'Someone has put a curse on Man Utd' - De Gea doesn't know what's going wrong at Old Trafford

Posted Saturday, February 12, 2022 by Goal.com

The goalkeeper can't quite figure out why the Red Devils haven't been winning trophies in recent years

David de Gea believes someone has put a "curse" on Manchester United as the goalkeeper says he does not fully understand why the club have had so many things go wrong in recent years.

United haven't won a trophy since 2017, with the club lagging behind the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of English football in recent years.

De Gea has been at the club since 2011, having played under Sir Alex Ferguson during the manager's final two years, and the goalkeeper says he can't quite put his finger on what's gone wrong under the legendary manager's successors.

What was said?

"I think someone has put a curse on us or something," De Gea told El Pais. "The truth is I don't know what's going on, I really don't.

"People always ask me and we talk about it as team-mates and we just say 'we don't know what's happening'.

"We should have competed for more trophies, bigger titles, but I just don't know why this team doesn't function."

Ronaldo's presence

Man Utd have been lifted by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo this season, with the Portuguese star proving invaluable to the club's Champions League campaign so far.

'Someone has put a curse on Man Utd' - De Gea doesn't know what's going wrong at Old Trafford

Ronaldo scored six goals in five Champions League appearances, with the striker scoring 14 in all competitions so far this season.

"Even just seeing him walk through the door gives you a desire to show you're at his level," De Gea said. "He works so hard and is very demanding of himself.

"I think he's a bit calmer than before, but he is a machine. That's good for all the lads to see, because it shows how you need to look after yourself to have many years at the top level."

Too many saves?

Heading into the weekend, De Gea leads the Premier League in saves with 83, 13 more than Leeds' Illan Meslier.

But De Gea says that statistic is not necessarily one a goalkeeper wants to lead the league in as United still concede far too many chances to the opposition.

"I don't know if that's a good thing," he said. "Teams create a lot of chances against us. But that's what I'm here for: trying to stop goals, help the team however I can and this year things are going well in that regard.

"Ralf Rangnick wants us to be intense, to always press and be on the front foot."