Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has dismissed reports from earlier this week that claimed Louis van Gaal had not spoken to him “for months”.
A story surfaced in the Spanish publication AS stating the Spain international’s contract negotiations were in question due to a fractured relationship between the United manager and his number one. The article quoted no sources, and only utilized post-match comments from Van Gaal as the basis for the story.
Real Madrid have been rumored to be paying close attention to De Gea’s contract negotiations, with the Spanish giants tipped to sign the talented goalkeeper at some point in the future.
Speaking to MUTV earlier today, De Gea dismissed the report and blasted the media for its “lies” about the two men’s relationship.
“Everything that has been written in the press about us not getting on is a lie,” the goalkeeper said.
“We both want what’s best for the club and the team, and the stories are complete lies.”
De Gea’s current contract is set to expire in June 2016 and United have not been able to negotiate an extension as of yet. Speculation is the two parties are in disagreement over the player’s buyout clause.
Regardless of the contract standoff, the goalkeeper said he’s currently in the best period of his career and is happy in Manchester.
“I think this is the best period of my career,” De Gea added. “I am playing the best football that I’ve ever played. I’m really enjoying it at the moment and I’m just trying to improve with every training session and every game that goes by, giving 100% and concentrating to the maximum. That’s the way I want to continue.”
Earlier this month, super agent Jorge Mendes said he believed De Gea would remain at Manchester United.
Programming note: Manchester United vs. Sunderland will be shown LIVE on Saturday morning at 10:00am EST on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra.
