David de Gea made his first competitive appearance in 446 days on Thursday evening as Fiorentina came up against Hungarian side Puskas Akademia in the Europa Conference League.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper, who left Manchester United in the summer of 2023 after 12 years at Old Trafford, recently penned a one-year deal at Fiorentina with the option to extend for another year.
Having spent more than a year on the sidelines, De Gea explained his decision to join La Viola during his first press conference as a Fiorentina player.
“I received many offers but I wanted to play in Italy,” he said. “The negotiation was simple, Fiorentina were the best option. Many people wanted to see me return to action, which is a good sign.”
De Gea started on the bench in Fiorentina’s opening Serie A game against Parma on Saturday.
But five days later, he was handed a start in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off clash against Puskas Akademia, who got off to an incredible start on Thursday.
Zsolt Nagy opened the scoring from the penalty spot with just eight minutes played and just three minutes later, De Gea was unable to parry Mikael Soisalo’s powerful effort.
Here’s how fans on social media reacted to his start to life in Fiorentina.
One said: “De Gea dives right way but as usual he let’s the ball go under him. Could’ve easily came out and claimed the ball in the air too prior to the play that led to Fiorentina conceding the penalty. Gave away the ball twice with his distribution in 1st five touches. No pressure on him.”
A second wrote: “Are we trolling De Gea for not saving a penalty? I know he didn’t have a good record, but this is a pretty accurate effort, no?”
A third added: “Jesus wept, De Gea plays for the first time in over a year and the haters are already out. Concedes a penalty and a well taken shot and he’s hammered. Ridiculous, leave the bloke alone.
De Gea just conceded two goals in 12 minutes on his Fiorentina debut 💀
— aalutd (@aalutd) August 22, 2024
pic.twitter.com/gpyZwB3gHz
Earlier this month, De Gea opened up on his year-long sabbatical from football.
“I spent a year in Manchester before returning to Madrid,” he said. “I wanted to stay at a high level. I didn’t stop. It’s not easy to train alone.
“I spent two years in Manchester, it’s my home. That’s where my heart is set. It was difficult for me to find motivation to evaluate offers, so I decided to take a sabbatical.”
The Spaniard added: “I am fit, I trained every day, even more than before. I am on a good level. Perhaps it will take some time in the first games, but I’ve been playing for many years, so you just need to put me in goal.”
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