Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the most honoured football coaches in history, but in United's 26 years he has not always made the right decisions. Signing David De Gea instead of Neuer was probably one of his biggest mistakes. When Van der Sar hung up his gloves in 2011, United's quest for a new No. 1 player intensified. Ferguson was initially interested in taking Neuer, then 25, from Schalke, but goalkeeping coach Eric Steele persuaded the Scot to turn his attention to De Gea and he left Atletico. "Eric and I went out to watch his away game against Valencia and what he's been talking about – his agility, his confidence, his speed – is obvious. Eric has been in a relationship with his parents and is so determined that I have to trust him – I'm glad I did because he was right. ”
De Gea was a success at Manchester United, helping the Red Devils win the Premier League title in his final season at Manchester United in 2013, keeping 11 games with zero goals conceded. After Ferguson, he also won one FA Cup and Europa League and was named to the PFA Team of the Year five times. Neuer eventually came to Bayern Munich, where he won 10 Bundesliga titles and completed two triples in 2013 and 2020. He also supported Germany's victory at the 2014 World Cup. De Gea's closest chance to win the international competition was the UEFA Runner-up in 2021. Admittedly, the unpredictability of the Bundesliga is not as strong as that of the Premier League, but Neuer is also part of the reason bayern has such an advantage at home.
But how did De Gea and Neuer win the game? Stylistically, De Gea is also second best here. To this day, he still prides himself on an impressive save, as evidenced by his 112 saves in the Premier League this season, the second best performance in the league. However, Neuer saved 73 per cent of his shots on goal, while De Gea saved 69 per cent of his shots. Assuming we take into account the "Bundesliga difficulty factor", Neuer is still better than De Gea. De Gea has the lowest number of touches among Premier League goalkeepers this season, while Neuer is the 11th player in Bayern's passing system and 96th in the Bundesliga. "When I first came to Manchester United, De Gea said, 'Tell me, am I better than Neuer?' Schweinsteiger said of coming to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich in 2015. "I said 'No, you're not. It's a different level. He was angry, but I explained why. Whenever he has a great game he asks me again and I will still say he's not at that level. ”
Seven years later, De Gea stood at a crossroads. He ceded Spain's number one shirt to Unai Simon at Euro 2020 and never got it back. Eric Ten Haag came to Manchester United this summer and he could become a key figure at club level and want to build a new style of football – one that keeps the ball in hand. Neuer remains the captain of the club and national team, the undisputed captain, and even Barcelona's Ter Stegen cannot replace him in Germany. If he had been at Old Trafford, there would have been no fear he would have been replaced and perhaps the team would have won more trophies after Ferguson retired. De Gea remains one of United's best performers and arguably a great Premier League player. That may not be as bad as Paul Gascoin wasting his peak at Tottenham Hotspur for his parents' house. But one unavoidable problem is that Sir Alex Ferguson may have made a mistake in making the decision in the first place.