Atlético Madrid Youth and Atlético B Born in
Madrid and raised in
Illescas, De Gea joined
Atlético Madrid at the age of 13 when his then coach Juan Luis Martín lied to the club that
Rayo Vallecano were set to sign him. A few days later,
Diego Díaz scouted De Gea and signed him immediately. He made his way up through the youth ranks at the club before signing his first professional contract in 2008, aged 17, contracting him to Atlético until 2011. He spent his second season for
Atlético Madrid B in
Segunda División B. In the summer of 2009, De Gea was approached by
Numancia and English team
Queens Park Rangers with regards to a loan move, with Atlético sporting director
Jesús García Pitarch pushing for him to move to Numancia. De Gea rejected the approach, and was punished by being forced to train by himself. Weeks later, Atlético manager
Abel Resino noticed De Gea training alone and invited him to train with the first team, where he was rated as the third-choice goalkeeper.
2009–10 season: First-team call-up in 2010|202x202px With first-choice goalkeeper
Sergio Asenjo away on international duty at the
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, De Gea was called up to the senior team as cover for
Roberto. He made his debut for the Atlético first-team at the age of 18 on 30 September 2009, coming on as a substitute after Roberto was injured after 27 minutes of Atlético's
UEFA Champions League group stage match away to
Porto; De Gea conceded two late goals as Atlético lost 2–0. Roberto's injury meant that De Gea was given his
La Liga debut three days later, at home to
Real Zaragoza; he gave away a
penalty kick in the 19th minute, but immediately redeemed himself by saving
Marko Babić's attempt in a 2–1 win. He described starting at the
Vicente Calderón Stadium as a "dream since childhood". In January 2010, De Gea was touted as a possible replacement for
Manchester United goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar, who was set to retire in 2011. Days later, however, he signed a new contract which would keep him with Atlético until 2013. After some costly mistakes by Asenjo, and the arrival of
Quique Sánchez Flores as manager, De Gea finished the
2009–10 season as the starting goalkeeper . He won two
man of the match awards along the way, against
Athletic Bilbao and
Valencia. Additionally, he appeared in eight matches in the club's
victorious UEFA Europa League campaign, including the 2–1
final win against
Fulham.
Diego Forlán later said of his first season, "David was good enough for the top level at 19 and the players had confidence in him." In September, it was reported that Manchester United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson had missed a
League Cup match with
Scunthorpe United to travel to Spain to watch De Gea in action against Valencia. De Gea played down the rumours, saying, "The important thing is that I have a contract here and I'm an Atletico player until 2013." Following his "faultless" performance in the
Madrid Derby on 7 November, De Gea was hailed as the heir apparent to
Real Madrid's goalkeeper
Iker Casillas for
Spain, a sentiment Casillas agreed with, saying, "In Spain we are lucky to have very good goalkeepers and De Gea soon might be fighting my place in the team," while Spain manager
Vicente del Bosque described De Gea as "the future of the team". He remained the undisputed starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, going on to play in every La Liga match for the team en route to a seventh-place finish.
Manchester United Transfer Throughout the 2010–11 season, speculation regarding how Manchester United would replace their retiring goalkeeper
Edwin van der Sar was widespread, and much attention focused on De Gea as United's key target. After
Gary Neville's testimonial against
Juventus on 24 May, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that a deal had been done to bring De Gea to
Old Trafford, but this was later denied by the player's representatives and the Atlético management, with De Gea stating that he would not consider his future until after the
2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Following Spain's victory in the tournament, De Gea was spotted in
Manchester undergoing a medical with United on 27 June. The next day, he reported that United were making him a contract offer, and the transfer was confirmed on 29 June for a then-British record fee for a goalkeeper of approximately £18.9 million. Growing up, De Gea had admired United goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel, and was often compared to Van der Sar, furthered by being dubbed "Van der Gea".
2011–12 season De Gea made his first appearance for Manchester United in a 3–1 friendly win over
Chicago Fire on 23 July 2011. He made his competitive debut for United against
Manchester City in the
Community Shield on 7 August. Despite being caught out in the first-half by a header from
Joleon Lescott and a long-range
Edin Džeko strike that put City into a 2–0 lead, United rallied in the second half and won 3–2. De Gea made his league debut for Manchester United against
West Bromwich Albion a week later, where he received criticism for failing to save
Shane Long's goal during a 2–1 United victory, which Ferguson described as "a learning process". De Gea kept his first clean sheet for United on his Old Trafford debut in the following fixture, a 3–0 victory against
Tottenham Hotspur. In the following match, six days later, De Gea saved a penalty from
Arsenal captain
Robin van Persie, which would have cancelled out United's 1–0 lead. He made further saves to deny Van Persie and
Andrey Arshavin in United's 8–2 victory. Teammate
Wayne Rooney backed De Gea to succeed at United and hailed him as a "strong character". On 18 September, Manchester United beat
Chelsea 3–1 at Old Trafford, with De Gea making a string of saves, particularly from
Ramires – when the midfielder had an empty net to side-foot home, De Gea quickly got across to smother the ball away. De Gea's improvement in form continued in his next appearance, as he made two notable saves to help his team to a 1–1 draw away at
Stoke City, and his overall performance was praised by teammates
Patrice Evra and
Darren Fletcher. De Gea made his first ever
UEFA Champions League start in a 3–3 draw against
Basel on 27 September 2011. On 15 October, De Gea was praised for his efforts at
Anfield as United drew 1–1 against
Liverpool, providing important saves in a nerve-free performance, prompting Liverpool manager
Kenny Dalglish to joke, "I thought the press said the boy was struggling." in 2012 On 23 October 2011, De Gea played as Manchester United suffered their worst home defeat since 1955 with a 6–1 loss against cross-town rivals Manchester City, the first time United had conceded six goals at home since 1930. De Gea was in goal during the league defeat to
Blackburn Rovers and was blamed by most media outlets for failing to deal with an aerial ball that led to the conceding of a late goal by
Grant Hanley in a 3–2 defeat. De Gea was nonplussed by the error, saying, "all keepers make mistakes once in a while and none of us like it when we do. I have every intention of spending many years here at Manchester United. I want to become a great United keeper and I want to earn and deserve the respect I hope to get," and spoke of his intentions of surpassing his predecessor: "Hopefully, I will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution Edwin van der Sar made to the club." After this match, De Gea was dropped and replaced by United's second-choice goalkeeper,
Anders Lindegaard. An injury to Lindegaard saw De Gea return to the starting line-up for a 3–3 draw with Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge on 5 February 2012. De Gea later cited his last-minute save from
Juan Mata during this match as the turning point in his season, as he went on to play the club's last 19 matches, keeping eight clean sheets. After a difficult first season in England, De Gea said, "There have been doubts in the first season but I always had faith in my ability. The pressure at an elite club like United is huge but Ferguson just told me to do what I did at Atlético. You have to be as strong when things go wrong but I don't get nervous. Mistakes are normal; everyone makes them." His goalkeeping rival Lindegaard, however, promised to fight for the place he lost via injury, saying, "I want the number one spot because I am the best. I am sure he is a bit in front right now because he did well last season, so I need to take every chance I get to prove myself worthy of the number one spot." De Gea later admitted that he thought about leaving after the first season.
2012–13 season Due to his involvement in the
2012 Olympics, De Gea missed Manchester United's pre-season tour, but nevertheless returned to the starting line-up for the opening match of the season against
Everton. Despite some "outstanding" saves from De Gea, United lost 1–0. In the next match, a 3–2 win at home to Fulham, he made some noteworthy saves from
Mladen Petrić,
Mousa Dembélé and
Bryan Ruiz. However, in attempting to claim a cross from
Matthew Briggs, a misunderstanding with
Nemanja Vidić led to the Serbian defender putting the ball in his own net for Fulham's second goal. On 9 December, De Gea made back-to-back saves from Manchester City's
Carlos Tevez and
David Silva, helping United to a 3–2 Manchester Derby win at the
City of Manchester Stadium. In the next match, a 3–1 win against
Sunderland at Old Trafford, De Gea produced an important double-save from
Craig Gardner and
Stéphane Sessègnon's follow-up. De Gea received criticism from former United captain Gary Neville for a punch that allowed Tottenham to score a stoppage time equaliser in a 1–1 draw at
White Hart Lane on 20 January 2013, saying, "You've got to learn the hard way and he's learning in a very unforgiving environment where he's judged continuously at the highest level. There's a theory that he saved Manchester United because he made two or three great saves, but unfortunately that's a waste of time. He played well yesterday, but playing well for 92-and-a-half minutes and then doing that in the 93rd is a problem at a club like that." On 13 February 2013, De Gea made several saves to help United to a 1–1 draw against Real Madrid at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the first leg of the last 16 of the
Champions League, and was praised by manager Sir Alex Ferguson for his "excellent" performance, one which was said to have turned him from "villain to hero" and made him "come of age". On 23 February, De Gea recorded his second consecutive clean sheet for United, stopping a
Loïc Rémy shot and a
Christopher Samba header to help United to a 2–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers. This was followed by a 4–0 win at Old Trafford against
Norwich City on 2 March. Another clean sheet came on 16 March in a 1–0 victory against
Reading. De Gea was on the receiving end of a controversial aerial challenge by
West Ham United striker
Andy Carroll that left him "poleaxed", with Ferguson expressing his disbelief at the lack of a red card. De Gea's form throughout the season was recognised by his peers, culminating in being voted into the
PFA Premier League Team of the Year. He ended the season with his first
Premier League winner's medal with United, making 28 appearances and keeping 11 clean sheets, as the team topped the
Premier League table by 11 points. This placed him joint-fifth in the race for the
Premier League Golden Glove.
2013–14 season De Gea's season began with a clean sheet in the 2–0 win over Wigan in the
Community Shield at
Wembley Stadium. On 5 October 2013, De Gea's save to deny Sunderland's
Emanuele Giaccherini during a 2–1 away win was described by former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel as one of the best saves ever seen in the Premier League. Manager
David Moyes agreed with Schmeichel's assessment, describing the save was a "turning point" in a match in which they were losing 1–0 at the time, and said De Gea "is improving all the time". On 1 December, De Gea made his 100th appearance for Manchester United in a 2–2 draw against Tottenham. He received the backing of teammate Darren Fletcher, when, in the
League Cup semi-final second leg against Sunderland on 22 January 2014, De Gea was deemed to be at fault when he let a weak
Phil Bardsley shot past him deep into extra time; a
Javier Hernández goal soon after left the aggregate score at 3–3, resulting in a
penalty shoot-out, where De Gea's penalty saves from
Steven Fletcher and
Adam Johnson were not enough to help United advance, losing 2–1. On 19 March, whilst playing against
Olympiacos in the
first knockout stage of the Champions League as United came from 2–0 down to win 3–2 on aggregate, De Gea made a crucial double-save before half-time which was said to have defied "all known laws of physics and physiology" in a performance described as "magnificent". Teammate
Phil Jones claimed that "he's up there with the best goalkeepers in the world". De Gea's performances throughout the season saw him named as both the club's Players' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year.
2014–15 season De Gea helped United secure back-to-back victories for the first time under their new manager
Louis van Gaal in a home victory against Everton on 5 October 2014. During the match, De Gea made three important saves, including one penalty from
Leighton Baines, to help United secure a 2–1 win in which he was voted by Manchester United fans as man of the match. He became the first goalkeeper to stop a penalty from Baines, who had previously converted all of his 14 Premier League penalties. After several vital stops against Everton, West Brom and Chelsea, he was named Manchester United's Player of the Month for October. On 14 December, De Gea was awarded the man of the match for his "outstanding" performance against Liverpool, making eight saves in a 3–0 victory, a performance rated as the best of the Premier League season. He was hailed by Van Gaal as "unbelievable" for his performances, and was called the "saving grace" for being the one constant in the team throughout the season. Amid rumours of a departure, he said he was "proud" to play for United, and was prompted by Peter Schmeichel and Gary Neville to sign a new contract with the club. At the end of the season, De Gea was shortlisted for the
PFA Players' Player of the Year and the
PFA Young Player of the Year, before losing out to
Eden Hazard and
Harry Kane respectively. On 26 April 2015, De Gea was named in the PFA Team of the Year as its goalkeeper and its only Manchester United player. He also won both
Fans' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards for the second consecutive season. His save against Everton was voted as Premier League Save of the Season by
Match of the Day, the second consecutive year he won the award.
2015–16 season On 7 August 2015, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal confirmed that De Gea would not be considered for selection for United's Premier League opener against Tottenham the following day, due to the uncertainty surrounding his future. On 13 August, Van Gaal revealed that De Gea had requested to goalkeeping coach
Frans Hoek that he be left out of the team. De Gea claimed he never expressed a desire not to play, but trained with the reserves soon after. On 31 August, after a summer of speculation, an agreement for a transfer was reached between Manchester United and Real Madrid worth £29 million, including the part-exchange of fellow goalkeeper
Keylor Navas. The deal, however, collapsed due to paperwork not being submitted before the transfer window in Spain closed. After the transfer window closed, Spanish head coach Vicente del Bosque admitted that it would be difficult for him to select De Gea in Spain's European Championship squad if Manchester United continued not to select him. On 11 September, De Gea signed a new four-year deal with Manchester United, with an option to extend it for a further year. Twelve days later, in the third round of the League Cup, De Gea
captained Manchester United for the first time, wearing the armband for the final nine minutes of their win over
Ipswich Town. In April 2016, while leading the race for the Premier League Golden Glove with 14 clean sheets, De Gea was the sole Manchester United player named in the PFA Team of the Year. On 23 April, in a 2–1 win over Everton in the FA Cup semi-finals, he saved a penalty from
Romelu Lukaku. In May 2016, De Gea became the first player ever to win Manchester United's Player of the Year for a third consecutive season. During the same month, he also won BBC
Match of the Day Save of the Season for the third consecutive year, for his save against
Watford on 21 November 2015. In the last league match of the season, a 3–1 win over
AFC Bournemouth, De Gea was denied the chance to share the Premier League Golden Glove with Arsenal's
Petr Čech due to a stoppage-time own goal by
Chris Smalling.
2016–17 season Under new Manchester United manager
José Mourinho, De Gea made his first appearance of the season in the
FA Community Shield against Premier League winners
Leicester City. The match ended in a 2–1 victory for United. De Gea started the Premier League season by keeping 2 clean sheets in his first 3 games against
Southampton and
Hull City. De Gea was part of the Manchester United team which lost 4–0 to
Chelsea, their heaviest Premier League defeat since the 6–1 loss against
Manchester City in October 2011. On 26 February 2017, he won his first
EFL Cup title after a 3–2 victory over Southampton in the
final. On 20 April 2017, De Gea was selected as a goalkeeper in the PFA Team of the Year for the fourth time in his career. On 24 May, he won his third trophy of the season, as Manchester United beat
Ajax 2–0 in the
Europa League final, despite being an unused substitute to
Sergio Romero in that match.
2017–18 season On 17 September 2017, at the fifth match of the Premier League against
Everton, De Gea made his fourth clean sheet of the season and 100th overall for Manchester United. On 2 December 2017, in a 3–1 win over
Arsenal, De Gea recorded 14 saves and equalled the mark that was shared by
Tim Krul and
Vito Mannone as the Premier League record for the greatest number of saves in a single game and he also won the Man of the Match award. On 18 April 2018, De Gea was selected as a goalkeeper in the PFA Team of the Year for the fifth time as the only Manchester United player. On 11 May 2018, after a 0–0 draw against West Ham, De Gea earned his 18th clean sheet of the season and also secured his first
Premier League Golden Glove since he joined Manchester United in 2011.
2018–19 season The 2018–19 season began with De Gea keeping just five clean sheets in his first 25 appearances. The start of 2019, however, saw him manage the same number in just eight appearances, including a 1–0 win over
Tottenham Hotspur on 13 January 2019, in which he made 11 saves to keep Spurs off the scoresheet, the second most by a goalkeeper in any one Premier League match, behind only his 14 saves against Arsenal a year earlier. His clean sheet against Liverpool on 24 February was his 100th for Manchester United in the Premier League, making him the seventh goalkeeper to reach that milestone for a single club in the competition and the second for Manchester United after Peter Schmeichel. In March and April, De Gea suffered a run of poor form; being criticised by fans and pundits for mistakes made in losses to
Arsenal,
Barcelona,
Everton,
Manchester City, and a 1–1 draw against
Chelsea. De Gea ended the season with just 7 clean sheets in 38 Premier League appearances, his lowest tally during his time at Manchester United, and kept only 10 clean sheets all season for the club.
2019–20 season On 3 July 2019, ahead of the 2019–20 season, De Gea was offered a new contract. By 15 July 2019, the negotiations were ongoing. On 11 August 2019, De Gea started in Manchester United's opening Premier League match against Chelsea and kept his first clean sheet of the season, as United beat Chelsea 4–0. On 16 September 2019, Manchester United confirmed that De Gea had signed a four-year contract renewal, keeping him at the club until at least June 2023. In October 2019 he became an injury doubt for the
North-West derby after being injured in a game for
Spain. Despite this, De Gea started the game which ended in a 1–1 draw. In Manchester United's first game after the
break in the season enforced by COVID-19 against
Tottenham Hotspur, De Gea made an error leading to a goal that cost United the win. This came after a series of errors earlier in the season against
Crystal Palace,
Watford, and
Everton. This error spell, like last season, resulted in calls from fans for
Dean Henderson to be made Manchester United's first choice goalkeeper. Manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjær backed De Gea saying, "one day [Henderson will] be England's and United's Number 1" but that De Gea was currently "the best goalkeeper in the world". However, de Gea continued his error-prone season in United's
FA Cup Semi-final tie against
Chelsea, where he was directly responsible for one of the goals in a 3–1 defeat. This came one week after reaching a number of landmarks and records for United including becoming the most capped non-British or Irish player to play for United, achieved on 9 July, and reaching 400 appearances for the club on 13 July. On 16 July 2020, he also kept his 112th PL clean sheet against
Crystal Palace, equalling
Peter Schmeichel's club record in the top flight. On the last day of Premier League, De Gea kept his 113th PL clean sheet against
Leicester City and surpassed Schmeichel's record.
2020–21 season The return of
Dean Henderson from an extended loan spell at
Sheffield United meant De Gea went into the
2020–21 season with a true competitor for Manchester United's number 1 jersey for the first time since joining the club. De Gea began the season as first-choice, missing just two of the club's first 26 league matches: he was left out of the squad for the match against
West Ham United on 5 December 2020 after aggravating an injury suffered in the club's previous league game against
Southampton, while Henderson was preferred against Sheffield United on 17 December. On 2 February 2021, De Gea played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet in Manchester United's Premier League record-equalling
9–0 home win against
Southampton. De Gea also started five of Manchester United's six Champions League group matches, but after the team finished third in their group and dropped down to the Europa League, Henderson was preferred in goal for the Europa League knockout phase. At the start of March 2021, De Gea returned to Spain for the birth of his first child, which meant Henderson was able to take over as first-choice goalkeeper in the league and De Gea started to be preferred in the Europa League; he kept clean sheets in the two matches against
Granada in the quarter-finals, and on 6 May, he made nine saves in a 3–2 away defeat to
Roma in the second leg of UEFA Europa league semi-final, as United progressed to the final with an 8–5 aggregate victory. On 26 May, in the
2021 UEFA Europa League final, De Gea missed his team's last penalty in an 11–10
penalty shoot-out defeat after the match finished 1–1 after
extra time to hand Spanish side
Villarreal their first ever European title.
2021–22 season De Gea started the league season against
Leeds United, in which he conceded a goal in a 5–1 home win. He earned his first clean sheet of the season in a 1–0 win against
Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the fifth gameweek of the season, De Gea saved his first penalty for Manchester United since a 2016
FA Cup tie against
Everton as he denied
Mark Noble of
West Ham United from the spot in the last action of the game, ensuring a 2–1 victory for the Reds after a late goal from
Jesse Lingard.
2022–23 season On 16 October 2022, he played his 500th match for Manchester United in all competitions, in a goalless draw against
Newcastle United. On 12 February 2023, he played his 400th Premier League match for Manchester United, with no non-British player making more for one club. On 26 February, he broke
Peter Schmeichel's record for the most clean sheets in Manchester United's history, after a 2–0 win over Newcastle United in the
2023 EFL Cup final marked his 181st. On 20 May, he won the
Premier League Golden Glove for the first time since the 2017–18 season. On 3 June, he played his last match for Manchester United in a 2–1 defeat against Manchester City in the
FA Cup final. De Gea's contract at Manchester United expired on 1 July 2023 as negotiations over a new contract broke down, leaving him a free agent while discussions continued. His departure from the club was confirmed on 8 July 2023. De Gea left Manchester United as their seventh all-time appearance maker, having played in 545 games in all competitions for the club. At the time of his departure, he became the last player from the
Sir Alex Ferguson era to leave Manchester United. However, the club would re-sign former defender and Premier League winner
Jonny Evans that same summer, meaning this was no longer the case.
Fiorentina After spending the entirety of the 2023–24 season as a free agent, on 9 August 2024, De Gea signed for
Serie A club
Fiorentina. On 22 August, he made his debut for the club in a 3–3 draw against
Puskás Akadémia in the
2024–25 UEFA Conference League play-off round. Later that year, on 6 October, he saved two penalty kicks, securing a 2–1 win over
AC Milan. On 31 May 2025, De Gea signed a new contract with Fiorentina, keeping him at the club until 2028. ==International career ==