David de Gea told he is 'done playing at the top level' after poor showing against Real Betis

David de Gea has been slammed by fans after looking all over the place for Manchester United against Real Betis.

The Spaniard was heavily criticised by Roy Keane for shipping SEVEN goals in the drubbing against Liverpool on Sunday and he looked incredibly shaky in his latest outing.

De Gea has saved United on many an occasions over the years but lately here has been the feeling that he is not good enough on the ball to play out from the back.

His distribution was especially poor against Betis, with the former Atletico Madrid man nearly gifting the La Liga side a second goal when he passed the ball straight to an opponent and fortunate that the subsequent effort was deflected onto the post.

He's been caught out plenty of times previously and after kicking the ball directly out of play in one instance, he put Lisandro Martinez under huge pressure with a short pass early in the second half.

Some felt that he should have saved Ayoze Perez's goal to cancel out Marcus Rashford's opener.

That seemed a little harsh but there would appear to be enough evidence to suggest he is nowhere near the top ball-playing goalkeepers.

One said: "David De Gea genuinely cannot be extended I refuse to believe the club is even entertaining it

A second agreed: "David de Gea is done. A player playing at the top level is not allowed to be this bad on the ball. Criminal.

Another tweeted: "David de Gea makes incredible saves to win us games, but his poor ball distribution harms our build-up so much. This is not a slander, it's an obvious fact."

A fourth opined: "As much as we like David De Gea we just have to accept that he simple can't play out from the back. 3 times he has passed the ball to Betis players & we were fortunate not to concede. His mistakes are sapping the energy out of the team."

And a fifth concurred that De Gea should now be moved on, writing: "David de gea thank you for the golden gloves and all the impossible saves over the years as well as that unforgettable Masterclass against Arsenal but it is over."

De Gea's £375,000-a-week contract is due to expire at the end of the season but he and the club are in talks over extended his stay.

The 32-year-old joined United in 2011 in a £18.9 million switch from Atletico.

Featured Image Credit: BT Sport & PA

Topics: David De Gea, Manchester United, Real Betis, Europa League

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

@joshlawless_