Transfer Centre

Manchester United's David de Gea reveals he was close to joining Wigan Athletic

By Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter | 16 September 2022

David de Gea reveals that he was "very close" to joining Wigan Athletic back in 2009 before he moved to Manchester United two years later.

David de Gea has revealed that he was "very close" to joining Wigan Athletic back in 2009 before he moved to Manchester United two years later.

The Spanish shot-stopper began his career with La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid, who he joined at the age of 13 before working his way through the youth ranks and breaking into the first team.

De Gea made his professional debut as an 18-year-old in September 2009, coming on as a substitute in a Champions League group-stage defeat against Porto.

While De Gea was regarded as a promising talent at Los Colchoneros, he struggled for regular game time and was behind both Sergio Asenjo and Roberto in the pecking order.

David de Gea in action for Manchester United on August 13, 2022 © Reuters

With first-team opportunities limited, the goalkeeper has revealed that he was offered the chance to join Wigan when they were competing in the Premier League under former boss Steve Bruce.

When shown a Wigan shirt on BT Sport's What I Wore and asked whether he was close to signing for the Latics, De Gea said: "Yes, that one" and pointed to their shirt from the 2009-10 season.

"Well I was in Atletico and it was the same season I made my debut and I was like the third keeper and not even count for the team much, just training. Nothing else," the Spaniard added.

"So Wigan got in contact with me just to sign for them and I was very, very close to sign for Wigan."

Wigan hovered in an around he relegation zone for a few seasons before dropping down to the Championship in 2013 and they have since fluctuated between the second and third tiers of English football.

Manchester United's David de Gea pictured on May 26, 2021 © Reuters

De Gea also allegedly received offers from Queens Park Rangers and Numancia but he eventually stayed with Atletico and went on to make 84 appearances across all competitions as well as win the 2009-10 Europa League.

His form with the Spanish giants caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson's Man United, who decided to sign the goalkeeper for around £18.9m in the summer of 2011 as a replacement for long-serving number one Edwin van der Sar.

De Gea has since made 495 appearances for the Red Devils in all tournaments, keeping 168 clean sheets and winning seven trophies including the Premier League title, Europa League and FA Cup.

The 45-cap Spain international – who came close to joining Real Madrid in 2015 – has also received a plethora of individual accolades during his time at Old Trafford, winning the club's Player of the Season award on four occasions as well as being named in the Premier League Team of the Year five times.

De Gea has not been called up to the Spain squad for this month's international break, so he will remain with United and prepare for their next game against bitter rivals Manchester City on October 2.