David de Gea names his five best Manchester United teammates; Cristiano Ronaldo & more

De Gea spent 12 years playing for the Red Devils.

David de Gea’s responses were, to put it mildly, intriguing when asked recently to choose the top five players he played with at Manchester United.

The Spaniard played for Old Trafford for 12 years, making more than 500 games during that period.

These five United players below were selected by David de Gea as his best teammates during a recent interview with the publication La Repubblica.

Robin van Persie

Robin Van Persie was significantly responsible for David De Gea’s lone Premier League championship with United.

One year after De Gea joined the team, the Dutchman moved to Old Trafford and made an immediate impression.

Van Persie made a huge impact on the title fight by scoring 26 goals in the league alone, helping United finish 11 points ahead of Man City in first place.

“You can only sit back and admire his finishing inside the penalty area,” David 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

Between 2011 and 2017, David De Gea and Rooney participated in 201 games together. In 2013, the Spaniard even provided the striker with one assist in a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen.

Ironically, Wayne Rooney wasn’t persuaded by De Gea when he initially joined the team, but the Spanish player was able to win him over in the end.

“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

Although Cristiano Ronaldo and de Gea only played together for a year and a half, it’s obvious that he made a significant contribution during that time.

CR7 was able to save United from difficulty several times in 2021–2022.

Even though the Portuguese superstar’s tenure at the club may have ended poorly in the latter part of 2022, Dea Gea still has a lot of respect for him.

“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

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, like Ronaldo, played with De Gea for a little time, but he made a significant impression. The Swedish sensation helped United win three trophies in the 2016–17 season and scored 28 goals in his debut.

“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

Romelu Lukaku, who had a rocky tenure at Old Trafford, was arguably the most unexpected addition on De Gea’s list. Even if the Belgian international was only with United for two years, De Gea obviously thought highly of him during that time.

To be honest, Lukaku’s 42 goals in 96 games aren’t bad, especially when you take into account some of the strikers who have come after him.

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