Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea has confirmed he is leaving Manchester United after his contract expired last week.

He joined the English club in 2011 at the age of 20.

“I want to express my unending gratitude and appreciation for the love of the past 12 years. We’ve accomplished a lot since my dear Sir Alex Ferguson brought me to this club,” De Gea posted on his Twitter.

“Whenever I wore this shirt, I felt incredible pride, to lead the team, to represent this institution, the biggest club in the world, an honor that is only given to a lucky few footballers.

“It has been an unforgettable and successful period since I have been here. I didn’t think that after leaving Madrid as a young boy we would be able to achieve what we did together.

“Now, is the right time to take up a new challenge, to push ourselves again in a new environment.

Manchester will always be in my heart, Manchester has shaped me and it will never leave me. We’ve seen it all,” he concluded.

The 32-year-old played 545 games for the 20-time Premier League (PL) winners and kept 190 clean sheets in the process.

He led the Red Devils to their last PL title in 2013, where he conceded only 26 goals in 28 matches and also kept 11 clean sheets.

The Spaniard bid farewell to Man United after winning eight trophies including the PL title, the UEFA Europa League and the FA Cup.

He also won the PL Golden Glove last season with 16 clean sheets over players such as Manchester City’s Ederson and Liverpool’s Alisson.

It was the second time the Spaniard won the award in his PL career. He received his first accolades under manager José Mourinho in the 2017/18 season, when he kept 18 clean sheets while conceding only 28 goals in 37 league games.

Despite so many great years with United, De Gea’s form dropped drastically and he was making mistakes on a weekly basis, leading a large section of Man United fans to call for a new goalkeeper.

With the 32-year-old’s departure, the English club are now set to sign Inter Milan’s Andre Onana.