Monday 4 September 2017 11:34, UK
David de Gea insists it is a “dream” to play for Manchester United and says he is proud to receive critical acclaim for his performances.
The Spanish No 1 has been heavily linked with a switch to Real Madrid during a number of transfer windows, and was seemingly on the brink of a move in 2015 before the deal fell through.
That has not impacted on De Gea's form, however, with the 26-year-old winning rave reviews for his performances for both club and country, with many pundits hailing him as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and he says he is delighted to be at a club like United.
"Of course, you feel really proud when people think this about you," he told MUTV. "It's really good, but I like to keep my focus, keep working hard and doing my best.
"To be fair, when you are really young, you don't think about the future too much, you just want to play with your friends.
"When you get older, you start to dream about being there, about being at a top team, so of course it's a dream to be at a team like Manchester United."
The United shotstopper, who kept a clean sheet as Spain beat Italy 3-0 in their World Cup Qualifier at the Bernabeu on Saturday, admits he is not sure when he began to think he could be one of the world's top goalkeepers.
"It's difficult," he said. "I don't know. I never thought that when I was young. Maybe when I was 15 or 16 years old, I started feeling better, thinking that I could play at a high level.
"At the same time, I was also playing tennis and things like that, but I was always better at football. I played some basketball too, but football is what I love."
