David de Gea has received heartfelt messages from three former Manchester United teammates, including Juan Mata, after making his debut for Serie A side Fiorentina on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Manchester United legend left Old Trafford at the end of the 2022-23 season after capturing the Premier League Golden Glove award.
David de Gea became a free agent in 2023 after talks over a new United deal broke down, despite the Spaniard reportedly agreeing to take a pay cut.
The former United No 1 spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season on the sidelines and teased a potential return to football during his time as a free agent.
Clubs in the Saudi Pro League, La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League club were all linked with United legend De Gea after he left the Red Devils last summer.
De Gea made his long-awaited return to football earlier this month after he completed a sensational free transfer to Italian club Fiorentina.
Mata and ex-Man Utd players react to De Gea
David de Gea was forced to wait for his Fiorentina debut after he only made the bench for the 1-1 draw against Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini last week.
However, the ex-Manchester United star made his first appearance for Fiorentina in the first leg of a Conference League play-off match against Puskas Akademia.
De Gea played the full 90 minutes on Thursday in the match against Puskas Akademia, but the United legend conceded three times on his return to football.
Ahead of the 3-3 draw against Puskas Akademia, De Gea’s last appearance in a match came in United’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the 2023 FA Cup final.
De Gea took to Instagram and posted a heartfelt message after his Fiorentina debut, with three of his former United teammates responding to his post.
Former United player Timothy Fosu-Mensah simply posted the comment “top,” while ex-Red Devils striker Odion Ighalo posted a poignant message.
“Number one,” he wrote, adding a finger pointing up emoji alongside a heart emoji.
Juan Mata, who played alongside De Gea for Spain and at United, also made his feelings clear on his former teammate’s return to football.
“Football smiles,” he wrote, adding a series of multiple emojis to his post.
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De Gea’s message to Fiorentina fans
Despite a tough start to life at Fiorentina after conceding three times, De Gea wasted no time in expressing the “incredible” experience of playing football again.
“What a feeling to be back, incredible but with lots of emotions and feelings,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I want to thank my family, friends and supporters of Fiorentina for the reception and look forward to the upcoming season to see what we can achieve together.”
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