David de Gea completed his move to Italian club ACF Fiorentina and explained why he took a sabbatical for 12 months after leaving Manchester United last year.
The Spaniard moved to Fiorentina on a free transfer as he had been a free agent for the past 12 months. Talking after joining the club, De Gea said, “I am proud to wear the Viola shirt and to represent Florence. Thank you all,” he said as quoted by Violanews.
“I want to thank the technical staff. It was a different year than usual. I decided to take a sabbatical, but I continued training alone. I had to be at my best, and when Fiorentina arrived, I had clear ideas,” he continued.
“They have great fans and a great history. It was an easy decision; I didn’t want to retire. Fiorentina have had great players and goalkeepers. I want to be part of the club’s history, help the young players, and have a winning mentality.”
He then revealed that after leaving Manchester United, he stayed in the city for a year before returning to Madrid as that is where he spent the last 10 years.
“I spent a year in Manchester before returning to Madrid. I wanted to stay at a high level. I didn’t stop. It’s not easy to train alone. I spent two years in Manchester, it’s my home. That’s where my heart is set. It was difficult for me to find motivation to evaluate offers, so I decided to take a sabbatical,” added the Spaniard.
“I am fit, I trained every day, even more than before. I am on a good level. Perhaps it will take some time in the first games, but I’ve been playing for many years, so you just need to put me in goal.”
