Fiorentina make brutal David de Gea decision following nightmare return to football

Fiorentina have made a brutal decision about David de Gea after the goalkeeper endured a nightmare return to football.

De Gea spent the entirety of last season without a club after leaving Manchester United in the summer of 2023.

Earlier this summer he signed a one-year deal with Italian side Fiorentina, and on Thursday he made his debut for the club.

Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, his first game in 446 days didn't really go according to plan.

Fiorentina drew 3-3 at home with Hungarian side Puskas Akademia in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off, a tie they were heavy favourites to win.

De Gea was beaten from the penalty spot by Zsolt Nagy after just eight minutes and four minutes later he was powerless to stop Mikael Soisalo from doubling the away side's lead.

Fiorentina thought they had completed a dramatic turnaround after goals from Riccardo Sottil, Lucas Quarta and Moise Kean put them 3-2 up, but Wojchiech Golla scored a late equaliser to leave the Italian side with plenty of work to do in the second leg next week.

Though De Gea produced a spectacular late save to prevent his side from losing on the night, manager Raffaele Palladino decided to bench the Spaniard for Fiorentina's Serie A clash with Venezia on Sunday afternoon.

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Instead, Pietro Terracciano will keep his place between the sticks after starting La Viola's league opener against Parma last weekend.

De Gea was hoping to make his Serie A debut for his new club, but his next appearance will likely come in the second leg against Puskas Akademia in Budapest on Thursday.

It remains to be seen whether De Gea will remain second choice goalkeeper in the league and act as Fiorentina's 'cup keeper'.