The real reasons why David de Gea has yet to find a new club following his Manchester United release has been revealed.
De Gea left Man United earlier this summer after 12 seasons at Old Trafford, where he won the Premier League Golden Glove award last season.
Erik ten Hag offloaded the 32-year-old as he replaced him with Andre Onana, who was snapped up from Inter Milan for £47.2 million during the summer transfer window.
Advert
With the new season underway, De Gea is still a free agent and has even considered retirement if he fails to land a major club in Europe.
It was thought that his huge wages were a stumbling block in securing a new team, but that is NOT the case, according to new reports.
The Daily Mail claim De Gea has turned down a move to Saudi Arabia as he wants to live in his home country.
"De Gea's desire to settle back in his home country with Spanish wife Edurne Garcia have made that an option that will only be looked at when other possibilities have been fully exhausted," the report states.
"He married his long-term partner in Menorca this summer and after so long away the feeling is they prefer to settle back in Spain."
De Gea is also seen as a 'save-making goalkeeper' and his inability to develop other facets of his game such as distribution has prevented a move to a big club, who favour keepers who can play out from the back.
Unai Simon has replaced him as Spain's No.1, with Arsenal's David Raya and Chelsea's Robert Sanchez edging him out of the national team squad completely.
SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here HERE for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.
Topics: David De Gea, Football
Nasir Jabbar