Van de Beek breaks silence on Man Utd nightmare

Tom Weber

• Updated: 14 Sept 2024 17:55 BST
• 3 min read

Donny van de Beek has revealed that he is trying to 'enjoy' playing football again after leaving Manchester United.

The Dutchman joined LaLiga side Girona this summer, ending his Man Utd nightmare at last. Once one of the most highly-rated midfielders in the Eredivisie, the ex-Ajax star failed to recapture his form at Old Trafford.

After several injury-disrupted seasons, the 27-year-old had already wanted to leave the club permanently in 2023, but no transfer materialised despite interest from Spain and France.

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In January, Van de Beek did manage to secure a move away, albeit only a temporary one. However, he failed to revive his career on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt and eventually lost his place despite arriving as a guaranteed starter.

His Man Utd stint ended when Champions League new boys Girona agreed a deal with Man Utd that saw them pay just €500,000 upfront for the former €39 million man, though the deal can eventually rise to north of €10m if performance-related bonuses are achieved.

Van de Beek speaks out

Now, the Dutchman has opened up on his unsuccessful time at Man Utd and, though he refused to be drawn into criticising his former club, he did say that he is trying to enjoy his football again.

“I try to enjoy myself again and I do that. It [Girona] is a beautiful club with good football, and I think I can help with that and I am working hard on that," Van de Beek told ESPN.

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"It is clear that nothing came of it for either party [Manchester United]. That is in the past, but not a single bad word about that club. Of course, I didn’t play a lot, but I did learn a lot.

There were good players around me and good people within the club. I will take those things with me into the future.”