Van der Sar: 'De Gea could be replaced'
Manchester United's goalkeeping legend has warned his successor, David de Gea, that he has not yet reached the point of being irreplaceable at Old Trafford.
"De Gea needs to make a quick decision about renewing his contract. I'm not a Manchester United boss, but I see this has been discussed for a long time, and now he just has to choose 'yes' or 'no'," Edwin van der Sar shared on September 13th.
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De Gea has yet to renew his contract due to a salary dispute with Man Utd. (Image: [Image caption])AP. |
De Gea's contract with Man Utd expires at the end of this season, but the two sides have yet to agree on an extension. Man Utd have offered to increase De Gea's weekly salary from his current $260,000 to $445,000. However, the 29-year-old goalkeeper wants a minimum of $455,000. If De Gea leaves, Man Utd will suffer a significant loss. Nevertheless, Van der Sar still believes that Man Utd have many suitable replacements for De Gea.
"There are many other goalkeepers who could fill the void left by De Gea if he leaves. The Premier League has many good goalkeepers who can meet Man Utd's needs in that position. When I was playing, I joined Man Utd when I was 34 years old. I believe Man Utd still have many opportunities to find a replacement for De Gea," the Dutch legend added.
Van der Sar retired and left Manchester United in 2011 after earning a Master's degree in Sports Management. He then joined Ajax's board as Marketing Director in November 2012. From the end of 2016, Van der Sar was elected CEO of the Amsterdam club. In his managerial role, the former goalkeeper proved his talent by helping Ajax achieve many successes in training, commercial, and sporting aspects. Manchester United are reportedly impressed with Van der Sar's achievements at Ajax and want him to return to Old Trafford as Technical Director.
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Van der Sar is highly regarded for his managerial abilities, thanks to the many successes he achieved at Ajax. (Image:)REX. |
However, Van der Sar is not ready to leave. He said: "I am enjoying my time at Ajax as CEO. I really want to bring Ajax back to the Champions League, Europe's most prestigious competition, where we reached the semi-finals last year."
