adminMANCHESTER UNITED have placed a world-record £50million valuation on goalkeeper David de Gea in a bid to fend off Real Madrid’s growing interest.
And they will attempt to persuade the Spain No1 to stay at Old Trafford by offering him a £200,000-a-week five-year contract worth about £52m.
Madrid-born De Gea, 24, is happy at United but is bound to be tempted by the chance to move back home and play for Real as Iker Casillas’s long-term replacement, even though his formative years were spent at their city rivals Atletico. United have made De Gea’s future their top priority but the player is likely to want to wait until the summer before making any final decision because by then he will know if Louis van Gaal has guided the club back into the Champions League.
If he rejects a new deal, United will have little option but to cash in on De Gea because his value will plummet during the final season of the five-year deal he signed following his move from Atletico in 2011 for £18.6m — a British-record fee for a goalkeeper.
The world-record fee for a goalkeeper remains the £32.6m Juventus paid for Gianluca Buffon 14 years ago. — Daily Express
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