Is David de Gea finished as a world-class goalkeeper?The Spaniard has severely struggled between the sticks in recent years and is no longer the reliable presence he once was.His latest error came in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday, in which De Gea failed to keep out Steven Bergwijn’s shot."I would be fining him [De Gea] at half-time, there is no getting away from that,” a furious Roy Keane said in his viral half-time rant on Sky Sports.“I would be swinging punches at that guy. That is a standard save for an established international goalkeeper.”Gary Neville believes De Gea hasn’t been the same since the 2018 World Cup, in which he made just one save for Spain and conceded six times from seven shots on target.“In the World Cup in 2018 he really struggled and from that he's doubted himself,” Neville said on the Gary Neville podcast."Mentally he's not quite the same."
And it might be during Spain’s 3-3 draw with Portugal in their opening game of the tournament in Russia that De Gea’s decline began.Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Portugal, including a stunning free-kick in the 88th minute to make it 3-3, and there’s a belief now that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner might have finished De Gea as a world-class goalkeeper.Check out what fans are saying on Twitter…
De Gea’s performance at the World Cup sparked plenty of criticism in Spain and his place in the starting line-up hasn’t been secure since.
Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga has sometimes been preferred and it’s not hard to understand why.