David de Gea names his 5 best Man Utd teammates including Cristiano Ronaldo
David De Gea was recently asked to name the five best players that he played with at Manchester United and his answers were interesting, to say the least.
The Spaniard spent 12 years playing at Old Trafford and racked up over 500 appearances for the club in that time.
During a recent interview with La Repubblica newspaper, here were the five United players that De Gea picked out as his best teammates.
Robin van Persie
De Gea only managed to win one Premier League title with United and it was largely thanks to Van Persie.
The Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford one year after De Gea had joined the club and he instantly hit the ground running.
Scoring 26 goals in the league alone, Van Persie made the world of difference in the title race as United finished 11 points clear of Man City in second.
“You can only sit back and admire his finishing inside the penalty area,” De Gea told reporters back in 2012.
“When the ball falls to Robin it’s as if you can predict the outcome before he’s even taken his shot. He’s deadly inside the box and he knows where the goal is.”
Wayne Rooney
De Gea played a total of 201 games alongside Rooney between 2011 and 2017.
The Spaniard even assisted the striker on one occasion during a Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen back in 2013.
Funnily enough, Rooney wasn’t convinced by De Gea when he first joined the club, although the Spanish international eventually managed to win him around.
“He looked like a baby for two years. I lost faith in him for a couple of years, I knew he had the talent but physically…” Rooney told Sky Sports back in 2019.
“Going from Edwin (Van der sar), when David came in I was like ‘there’s no way he is a goalkeeper’ he was so thin and small.
“He struggled, he struggled in training, he wasn’t great and I remember thinking he wasn’t good enough to play for Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson had faith in him and thankfully he did because he’s probably the best keeper in the world.”
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo only spent a year and a half playing alongside De Gea, but it’s clear that he had a massive impact during that time.
Throughout 2021-22, CR7 managed to get United out of trouble on multiple occasions.
While his time at the club might have ended on a sour note towards the end of 2022, the Portuguese superstar is still held in high regard by Dea Gea.
“He’s great. The way he works speaks for himself,” De Gea told the Manchester Evening News when discussing Ronaldo.
“The way he treats himself, his body. He is focused in every training session and every game. This is why he is one of the best in history.
“He’s mentally very strong and that’s an example for everyone.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Like Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic only spent a short period playing alongside De Gea, but what an impact he had.
The Swedish superstar scored 28 goals in his debut season and helped United win three trophies during the 2016-17 season.
“Zlatan is very, very big, very strong and his control of the ball is incredible,” De Gea said back in 2016.
“It can seem like he’s not there, he’s not there, and then he goes and scores the decisive goal.”
Romelu Lukaku
Perhaps the most surprising inclusion on De Gea’s list was Lukaku, who had a somewhat mixed spell at Old Trafford.
The Belgian international only lasted two years at United, but De Gea clearly rated him in those seasons.
In fairness to Lukaku, his scoring record of 42 goals in 96 appearances isn’t too shabby, especially when you consider some of the strikers that have since followed him.
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