Former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea joins Fiorentina on one-year deal after season without a club
By James Hilsum
Published 09/08/2024 at 19:50 GMT+1
David De Gea has ended a one-season exile from football after agreeing a deal to join Fiorentina. The Spaniard was heavily linked with a move to fellow Serie A side Genoa, but has now put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the Florence outfit. The move also includes the option of a further season, as De Gea embarks on a new career chapter in Italy.
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David De Gea has made a long-awaited return to football after agreeing to join Fiorentina on a one-year deal, with the option of another season.
De Gea has been a free agent since leaving Manchester United at the end of the 2022/23 season, and heads to Florence ahead of the new Serie A season.
The goalkeeper has been increasingly active on social media in recent months, posting a series of clips and images of himself training in a bid to keep fit ahead of his next move.
He posted a cryptic hourglass emoji on X last month, dropping a big hint that a transfer to a new club was close.
That post has now been followed by another emoji - this time, simply a purple heart, in reference to Fiorentina's club colours.
La Viola have now confirmed the move, after he passed a medical earlier on Friday.
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It marks a first spell in Italian football for De Gea, and the Spaniard will now link up with new head coach Raffaele Palladino at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
De Gea spent 12 years at Old Trafford, winning a Premier League title, the Europa League, an FA Cup and two League Cups during that time.
He sits seventh in the club's list of all-time appearance makers, behind only Wayne Rooney, Bill Foulkes, Gary Neville, Sir Bobby Charlton, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
De Gea also won the club's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award four times - the joint-highest total alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
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David de Gea celebrates winning the Premier League title with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Image credit: Getty Images
De Gea made 545 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils, keeping 190 clean sheets in the process.
De Gea began his career with Atletico Madrid, where he featured 84 times, winning the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup during his time in the Spanish capital.
The shot-stopper also won three honours at youth-team level with the national team, lifting the Under-17 European Championship in 2007, before two Under-21 European titles in 2011 and 2013.
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