David de Gea became a Man United player on June 29, 2011, and completes his 10th year at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
It was Sir Alex Ferguson who personally went to scout him and he broke some of his personal rules to do so. Former United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele spoke about it and said: “I can only remember Sir Alex Ferguson missing two United matches. He missed a Manchester derby in 2000 for his son's wedding. The other time? To scout the brilliant David de Gea
“I was convinced that a 19-year-old De Gea was the right man to replace him. I showed a three-minute DVD compilation to Sir Alex and then we went to watch him play for Atletico Madrid at Valencia on the night United played Scunthorpe in the League Cup.
“Sir Alex knew he was the right signing inside 65 minutes. David showed composure, concentration and reflexes. He made one terrific save that went through a load of bodies.”
Soon after that, United secured the signing of De Gea for a then-British transfer record fee for a goalkeeper of around £18.9m. After a shaky start to his career at Old Trafford, Dave eventually adapted himself to become the undisputed no.1 at United for many years.
The Spaniard has been one of our best players over the last decade – winning multiple Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards and going through all the highs & lows at the Theatre of Dreams.
