Man Utd legend David de Gea drops cryptic social media post amid Erik ten Hag sacking, it’s real eye-catcher

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David de Gea sent social media into a frenzy after he shared a cryptic message online amid Erik ten Hag being sacked from Manchester United.

Erik ten Hag was dismissed from the role of Manchester United head coach on Monday after the Red Devils’ lacklustre start to the 2024-25 season.

The Red Devils languish in 14th place in the Premier League table and United had won only three league matches out of nine under Ten Hag.

Ten Hag was axed from his role after United suffered a 2-1 Premier League defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been appointed interim manager and will take charge of the club for the Carabao Cup tie against Leicester City at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The 48-year-old United legend returned to the club in the summer as part of Ten Hag’s coaching staff, with Ruud van Nistelrooy appointed as assistant manager.

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Man Utd legend De Gea’s mysterious post

David de Gea played under Erik ten Hag and lifted the Carabao Cup under the former Manchester United manager in the 2022-23 season.

However, the United legend left the Red Devils in 2023 after talks over a new contract failed to materialise, despite De Gea’s desire to sign a new deal.

De Gea secured the Premier League Golden Glove award in his final season at United, but the Spaniard became a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

According to a report from The Athletic in July, De Gea was ‘upset’ with both Ten Hag and former United football director John Murtough over his departure.

De Gea, who spent the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign as a free agent, took to social media and shared a mysterious message with his followers.

The 33-year-old ex-United No 1 simply shared a pinched fingers emoji on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which immediately caught the eye of fans.

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Does De Gea’s message mean something else?

United fans instantly connected De Gea’s message to Ten Hag’s sacking, but the former Red Devils star’s tweet could be alluding to something else.

Fabrizio Romano on X posted that there will not be “even one representative of Real Madrid” attending the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday in Paris.

It is believed that Real Madrid have pulled out of attending due to Vinicius Junior being expected to fall short of lifting the Ballon d’Or trophy.

“Not even one representative of Real Madrid is expected to travel to Paris tonight,” Romano tweeted.

“This is club’s decision after Vinicius Jr was made aware that he will not win the Ballon d’Or, as [Fabrice Hawkins] said.”

Vinicius Junior was tipped as one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or award after a scintillating season with Los Blancos.

However, Rodri has been expected to challenge the 24-year-old Brazilian winger for the award after his key role for Spain in their Euro 2024 triumph in Germany.

De Gea played alongside the 28-year-old Manchester City midfielder for Spain and Rodri is now seen as the favourite to capture France Football’s sought-after prize.