LVG: De Gea didn't want to play

David de Gea told Manchester United staff that he did not want to play for Manchester United against Aston Villa

  

De Gea was not included in the squad for the match against Tottenham on the opening day of the season, with Sergio Romero preferred.





At that point, Van Gaal seemed to hint that the decision had come from his rather than his goalkeeper.

This time, however, Van Gaal was clear as to why De Gea wasn't in United's squad for their Friday night fixture against Aston Villa.
"We've talked with him (De Gea), he was fully agreed with our decision," Van Gaal said.
"I have one assistant coach (Albert Stuivenberg) and another assistant coach (Marcel Bout) so we speak about that kind of thing. We have a goalkeeping coach, Frans Hoek, I'm not doing everything alone.
"Frans Hoek, he has a meeting with David de Gea and he asks him, 'Do you want to play?'."
When pushed for De Gea's answer, Van Gaal simply replied: "No."
"Then I have to take the decision. It is a process. We had been observing him in preparation, he was not so good, he was not the same David de Gea as before, he was my best player last season. According to the fans, he was the best of the last two years."
A United official then clarified that De Gea was "not eager" to play.