In a clear indication of his eagerness to embrace his new environment, David de Gea spoke his first sentence in perfect Italian: “I’m very happy to be here, and it’s an honor to represent the Fiorentina shirt. I will give my all.” The former Manchester United goalkeeper, born in 1990, then switched to Spanish to explain the reasons for his move to Florence after a year without a club: “Last year, I decided to take a break, but I trained hard every day to be ready when the right opportunity came. When Fiorentina came knocking, the decision was easy. I want to make history with this team, help them achieve great things, bring my experience to Viola Park, and hopefully win a trophy to leave a significant mark here.”
A major concern for De Gea is his physical condition after being out of action for 14 months. Addressing this, he stated, “I’m doing well. It might take a little time to get back to peak performance, but I have a lot of experience, and I just need to get back in goal to start where I left off. I have trained consistently at a high level because I wanted to return to competing at the top level and not retire. It’s true that training alone isn’t the same as being in a team, but physically, I feel really good. I had other offers during this time, but after many years at a top club like Manchester United, I didn’t have the right motivation for other teams and chose to sit out for a year. Now I’m here, happy, and ready to start again. Many others are also excited about my return to the pitch.”
Discussing competition for the starting goalkeeper position with Pierluigi Gollini, De Gea added, “I believe competition is beneficial and raises everyone’s level.” Coach Raffaele Palladino values building from the back as a key principle of his style, which is why De Gea was chosen. The goalkeeper addressed this by noting, “A keeper needs to have quality with his feet, but I think the most important quality of a number one is the ability to prevent goals. I haven’t spoken much with the coach yet, but I know the type of game he wants to play, and I like it a lot because it’s bold.”
As for the city of Florence, he said, “It’s beautiful, but I’m here for football.”
