David de Gea

Atlético Madrid

Youth and Atlético B

Born in Madrid and raised in Illescas, De Gea joined Atlético Madrid at the age of 13 when his then coach Juan Luis Martín lied to the club that Rayo Vallecano were set to sign him. A few days later, Diego Díaz scouted De Gea and signed him immediately. He made his way up through the youth ranks at the club before signing his first professional contract in 2008, aged 17, contracting him to Atlético until 2011. He spent his second season for Atlético Madrid B in Segunda División B. In the summer of 2009, De Gea was approached by Numancia and English team Queens Park Rangers with regards to a loan move, with Atlético sporting director Jesús García Pitarch pushing for him to move to Numancia. De Gea rejected the approach, and was punished by being forced to train by himself. Weeks later, Atlético manager Abel Resino noticed De Gea training alone and invited him to train with the first team, where he was rated as the third-choice goalkeeper. The same summer, Atlético rejected an offer from English team Wigan Athletic for a permanent transfer for De Gea.

2009–10 season: First-team call-up

With first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo away on international duty at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, De Gea was called up to the senior team as cover for Roberto. He made his debut for the Atlético first-team at the age of 18 on 30 September 2009, coming on as a substitute after Roberto was injured after 27 minutes of…

Youth

De Gea helped Spain's under-17 team win the 2007 European Championship, and finish second at the 2007 World Cup. In early May 2010, courtesy of solid Atlético performances, he was named by senior squad manager Vicente del Bosque in a provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; however, he did not make the final cut. In 2011, he was part of the Spain under-21 team that won the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and was named in UEFA's Squad of the Tournament. On 15 May 2012, De Gea was called up to the Spanish senior team for two matches against Serbia and China. He was in consideration for Del Bosque's Euro 2012 squad, but did not make the final 23-man group. He was selected, however, to play at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and played all three matches as the nation was eliminated in the group stage. De Gea was part of the Spain under-21 team that retained their European title in 2013 and was named in the Squad of the Tournament for the second time.

Senior

On 13 May 2014, De Gea was selected in Spain's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup, and later made the final squad. He made his first senior international appearance against El Salvador in a 2–0 friendly victory on 8 June in preparation for the tournament, replacing Iker Casillas for the last seven minutes of the match at the FedExField in Washington D.C. As third-choice goalkeeper behind Casillas and Pepe Reina, De Gea was the only member of the squad not to feature at…

De Gea was regarded as a promising goalkeeper in his youth. He later developed into one of the best professional goalkeepers in the world in his prime. De Gea grew up playing futsal as an outfield player until the age of 14. He has incorporated futsal goalkeeping techniques into his playing style, including the use of his feet to make saves. De Gea has been complimented for his reflexes, agility, and is well known for making saves with his feet. In 2018 Shay Given called De Gea the best shot-stopper in the world. Due to De Gea's slender frame, he initially struggled at defending high balls as a youngster, often punching balls away rather than holding on to them, and was at times reluctant to come off his line. He later showed improvements in his aerial prowess, handling, command of his area, decision making, and ability to come out and claim crosses, in particular after he developed physically and gained more experience, even being described as a "strong presence in the box" by Kyle Diller in 2012. However, in his later seasons at Manchester United, his inability to come off his line and deal with crosses was once again cited as a weakness in his game, in particular in comparison to teammate Dean Henderson.

De Gea is highly regarded for his speed when rushing off his line in one on one situations, which also enables him to function as a sweeper-keeper. In later seasons, however, Adam Bate of Sky Sports noted in 2019 that De Gea mainly stayed in his area and would come out…

In January 2012, De Gea was confirmed as farsighted, although this is not thought to have affected his performances. De Gea has stated that he is a fan of heavy metal music, with Avenged Sevenfold being one of his favourite bands. He has been in a relationship with Spanish singer Edurne since 2010, whom he married in Menorca on 1 July 2023. On 4 March 2021, the couple had their first child, a daughter named Yanay. He also founded an esports team under the name Rebels Gaming in 2021.