DAVID DE GEA’s hotly anticipated return to football began with a NIGHTMARE.
The former Manchester United goalkeeper was named in Serie A side Fiorentina’s XI after sealing a free transfer at the start of August.
Having last conceded to Ilkay Gundogan in a 2-1 FA Cup defeat in May 2023, De Gea surrendered two early goals in the Europa Conference League play-offs.
Albeit the first goal was an ninth minute penalty.
But the former United stopper then swallowed another one in the 12th minute to put his side 2-0 down.
Before his new team-mate Riccardo Sottil managed to pull one back for the home side before half-time.
Fiorentina face Hungary’s Puskas Akademia in the first-leg of their European qualifying round.
Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino said: “He needed to adapt after a year of working separately.
“He has brought great professionalism and worked a lot.”
But United fans aren’t used to seeing De Gea suit up for another club and find it strange.
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One wrote: “Seeing De Gea wear another club’s jersey feels so weird not gonna lie.”
De Gea, 34, signed a one-year contract including the option of a further 12 months with Fiorentina.
The goalkeeper left United when his contract expired at the end of the 2022/23 season, bringing to an end a 12-year stay at Old Trafford.
He joined United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and during this 12-year tenure at the club made 545 appearances.
During his time at the club, he broke Peter Schmeichel’s all-time United record for clean sheets and became the highest appearance-maker for a goalkeeper.
The Spaniard won five major trophies during his time in Manchester including the Premier League title in 2013, the FA Cup in 2016 and the Europa League in 2017.
De Gea amassed several individual honours, including the Premier League Golden Glove in both the 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons.
Additionally, he was recognised as Manchester United’s Player of the Year for three straight seasons from 2013 to 2016.
Fiorentina finished eighth in Serie A last term and reached the Europa Conference League final for the second year running but were beaten by Olympiacos.
They fell to West Ham in the 2022/23 season after Prem star Jarrod Bowen scored a 90th minute winner to seal a first European trophy since 1965 for the Hammers.
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
