David De Gea has a lot more faith in Jose Mourinho than he had in his former manager.
As inevitably happens with managerial turnarounds, all plaudits that the new guy receives can also be read as veiled jabs at the shortcomings of his predecessor.
And that seems to be the case with De Gea’s comments on new Manchester United boss Mourinho.
Ahead of Spain’s Euro 2016 campaign, the United stopper was asked for his reaction to the appointment and his praise for the Portuguese seems to suggest that De Gea never believed that Louis van Gaal had what it took to manage a club of United’s stature.
“I think United needed a coach like him (Mourinho) – a winning coach with personality,” De Gea told Spain’s Cadena Ser radio. “United’s decision to sign Mourinho is the right move.”
We are delighted to announce Jose Mourinho is our new manager! Full statement: https://t.co/PDiHMIWnpd #WelcomeJose pic.twitter.com/eZ8NBSz2up
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 27, 2016
De Gea has been a long-time target for Real Madrid, memorably almost signing for them at the very death of last summer’s transfer window, and many believed that the 25-year-old would have considered making the move to the Bernabeu this summer if van Gaal remained in charge.
But with his sacking and the acquisition of Mourinho, De Gea reckons that United are now able to start challenging for titles in the way that they were under Alex Ferguson.
He said: “I arrived at United to win titles; it’s true that in the past two years we haven’t been at the level that this club deserves, but we hope that with the coaching change, we can return United to the top.”
