Jose Mourinho comments on De Gea’s future, summer transfer plans and more

Manchester United manager, José Mourinho, is confident that Real Madrid will not sign David de Gea by keeping him in the dark. The reason is that he and Florentino Pérez, the Spanish club’s president, are ‘big friends’.

Earlier this week, Spanish newspaper, Marca, reported that Real Madrid would be looking to sign De Gea next summer. De Gea was close to joining Los Blancos in the 2015 summer transfer window, and had it been not for Madrid’s idiotic transfer approach on the deadline day, the Spaniard would have had claimed his maiden Champions League trophy by now.

Madrid are unwilling to make that same mistake again, and this time they are prepared to pay whatever-it-takes (read as €65m) to lure the Spaniard to the Bernabeu. Since then, De Gea has gone on record to say that he is happy at United. Juan Mata has gone on record to beat the same drum. Pérez said “someone is messing around there with De Gea”. And now it’s the turn of our manager to comment on the matter.

Isn’t it getting silly? When ‘ignore’ should have been the best one-word answer, somehow, everyone is making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

Mourinho said, as quoted by the Guardian:

On relationship with Perez: 

With Mr Pérez and his right arm José Ángel Sánchez [director general], they are some of the people in football that I can say I did not work for them and then it is over. I can say that we are friends forever, big friends. I like them a lot. Friends speak, friends are open, friends are honest.

So if at the end of the season I want one of their players or they want one of our players we will not do it through the press. We are going to exchange messages. We will be very direct. So they are one of the clubs that I am not worried about at all.

Whether De Gea will stay beyond the summer:

I have nothing to say because I am not going to speak about hypothetical things. The only thing that is real is that he is my player, I am happy with him, I know that he is happy with me and there is nothing else, absolutely nothing else.

Mourinho also assured everyone that Swede striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will sign a new contract extension at United. He will be out of contract at the end of the season, but United still hold an option to extend this for another 12 months.

I’m totally convinced he is going to stay. He came with the intention to stay two years but in the minds of everyone the first year is going better than every expectation. He knows we are going to try again to improve next season and try to share with him in a fantastic way probably the last year of his career at the highest level.

So I’m convinced that he’s staying, he’s adapted to the club, to the situation, I don’t see any problem with his family. I give him the possibility of an extra day off to go to Sweden, he doesn’t want this ever, so I’m totally convinced he is going to stay.

Mourinho on Marcus Rashford:

He is still a kid but not the new kid in town any more. Next season will be very, very good for Marcus because this season he is getting experience at this level of responsibility of being a professional player at a club like Manchester United.

He said something the other day that made me really happy – that he is learning so much in the technical meetings and training sessions so I think his future will be brilliant. His present is good and we need him.

Finally, on his summer transfer plans:

The former Chelsea manager has admitted that United have a small market to operate on in the transfer window, and that he would target a maximum of four players.

Independent of the numbers, can you spend 1, 10 or 100 million, it’s also the philosophy – we prefer to bring two three or four players, players that feel an idea, a football we try to play, that can improve our squad. We are not interested in signing six or seven or sell six or seven. We are not going to play this game.

We are stable, so we think our market in the summer will be soft, will be natural – some players to leave, some players to come but in a very natural way so I think the word Ed used was a good one. You work with the players and you know the players better – even in relation to this everything is balanced, I’m not negatively surprised with anyone, I didn’t have an incredible impact with some player. So everything is balanced and I think our summer will be quite small.

Mourinho’s press conference round up: Ibra will sign a new contract. No need to worry about Rashford. The lad is doing just fine. Next summer, we’re going to catch the big fishes again in the transfer market. And finally, United are not selling De Gea. Period. He doesn’t want to leave. However, never trust Madrid – there is many a slip between the cup and the lip!