It has been a year since De Gea left Manchester United, but the Spanish goalkeeper's transfer path does not seem to be smooth. Despite rumors with several clubs, including Genoa and Fiorentina in Italy, as well as teams in Saudi Arabia and Newcastle in the English Premier League, he has yet to find a new home. The root cause of this predicament seems to lie in De Gea's exorbitant salary demands.
According to authoritative media reports such as Sky Sports, De Gea's transfer negotiations have been repeatedly thwarted, mainly due to his insistence on seeking a contract worth up to £5 million a year, which equates to a salary of more than £80,000 a week. This requirement is obviously too high for most clubs, especially for those teams with limited budgets.
Looking back at De Gea's glory days at United, he was one of the highest paid players in the team, netting £375,000 per week. Such a salary level undoubtedly gives him higher expectations in the market, but the reality is often more bone-headed than the ideal. With his age and fluctuating form, De Gea's appeal in the transfer market is not as strong as it used to be, which makes it even more difficult for his high salary demands to be met.
Fiorentina, the latest potential player to show interest in De Gea, has also chosen to back down after learning of his salary demands. Fiorentina reportedly deemed De Gea's wage demands "unacceptable", further aggravating De Gea's transfer dilemma.
