JOSE MOURINHO EXPECTS David de Gea to agree a new deal at Manchester United in the near future.
The Spain international goalkeeper had been a long-term target for Real Madrid, a proposed move to the Santiago Bernabeu having fallen through in 2015.
Los Blancos instead swooped for Thibaut Courtois, the Belgium shot-stopper leaving Chelsea to return to the Spanish capital, where he starred on loan for Atletico Madrid from 2011 to 2014.
Speaking to a news conference ahead of United’s Premier League match away to Brighton on Sunday, Mourinho was adamant there is no chance De Gea could still leave Old Trafford.
“The price of De Gea in today’s market is zero,” he said.
“He is a Manchester United player, he will sign a new contract as soon as possible, he likes it here and we love him.
“He wants to stay and we want him to stay, so he is not in the market. And when a player is not in the market his value is zero.”
According to Mourinho, De Gea’s representative Jorge Mendes, who also looks after the affairs of the United boss, was reluctant to force through a transfer for his client, despite Madrid’s apparent interest.
“The agent didn’t create a war to try and achieve his objectives, and I must thank him for that,” Mourinho said.
“He respected the club and the player, and the player was always happy to stay, so credit to all three parties.”
Of De Gea’s continuing importance to United, the Portuguese coach said: “I wouldn’t swap him for anyone.
“My goalkeeper is always the best in the world, if you understand what I mean. I used to say that when I was coaching Uniao Leiria, a small club in Portugal.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful or arrogant and imply that [Thibaut] Courtois or [Bayern Munich's] Manuel Neuer is not good. There are so many good goalkeepers out there but I am happy with mine.”
Mourinho has railed against what he perceived to be unfair media treatment of De Gea, who made an uncharacteristic error in Spain’s opening 3-3 draw with Portugal at the World Cup.
“All the other guys in the team were protected from criticism because they play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, etc,” he said.
“The poor guy who plays for Manchester United was the one the press chose to destroy, but David is stronger than that.
“He knew perfectly well he was not responsible for Spain being knocked out, he came back normal and by the time we were in the United States he was working as hard as ever.”
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