David de Gea fires shots at Erik ten Hag after Man Utd sack boss | Football | Sport

Former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has reginited his feud with Erik ten Hag by taking shots at the Dutchman following his sacking on Monday.

De Gea, who spent 12 years playing for the Premier League club between 2011 and 2023, reacted to news of Ten Hag’s departure after his reign was brought to an abrupt conclusion.

The 54-year-old was shown the door by United’s senior officials after overseeing their worst start to a Premier League season and the 2-1 defeat to West Ham was the last straw.

Reacting to the news on social media, De Gea didn’t use any words but instead, posted a single emoji depicting ‘pinched fingers’ – an emoji that many interpret as a famous stereotypical Italian gesture.

It speaks to the Spaniard’s rocky relationship with Ten Hag after he left the club as a free agent in June 2023. Having spent the majority of his 12 years at Old Trafford as their No 1 goalkeeper, he was ditched by Ten Hag after just one season.

Things soured between the shot-stopper and Ten Hag when he made it clear he wanted to bring in another goalkeeper. He later signed Andre Onana from Inter Milan in a £47million deal and the Cameroonian became their number one goalkeeper.

Onana’s arrival spelled the end for De Gea, who was released after the club opted not to renew the long-serving club servant’s contract worth a reported £375,000 a week.

De Gea waited 12 months to find a new club before eventually signing for Serie A side Fiorentina, where he has enjoyed a fine start to his career with La Viola.

According to The Athletic, the former Spain international even contemplated retirement after leaving the English giants as he felt hurt by Ten Hag’s mistreatment towards him.

De Gea reportedly confided in people close to him that he blamed Ten Hag and then-football director John Murtough for his departure and forcing him out of the club, revealing he would have returned once they had left.

Now that they have, however, it remains unlikely he will return to Manchester as he is settled in Florence. He took to social media to give an emotional update on his return to football.

“What a feeling to be back, incredible but with lots of emotions and feelings,” he wrote on Instagram in September.

“I want to thank my family, friends and supporters of Fiorentina for the reception and look forward to the upcoming season to see what we can achieve together.”

De Gea has made 10 appearances for the italian side, conceding 10 goals and keeping two clean sheets. And he may feel he has had the last laugh now that he has a club and Ten Hag is no longer gainfully unemployed.