'Chef's kiss' - De Gea reacts to Man Utd sacking Ten Hag

Tom Weber

• Updated: 28 Oct 2024 16:53 GMT
• 3 min read

Former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea appears to have reacted to Erik ten Hag's sacking with a cryptic social media post.

The Spaniard finally made his return to football in the summer, joining Fiorentina as a free agent after a year without football. It was Ten Hag who had axed the shot-stopper at Man Utd and the two parties reportedly separated in acrimony.

In his final season at Old Trafford, De Gea had come under heavy fire for his repeated mistakes, particularly with the ball at his feet. Ten Hag demanded of him to be an active participant in the build-up and the veteran clearly wasn't comfortable with it.

READ MORE: Man Utd stance on Zirkzee revealed after Ten Hag sacking

Towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign, rumours began circulating that Man Utd had wanted to extend De Gea's contract but that they eventually changed the terms and asked the 33-year-old to take a sizeable pay cut.

No agreement was ultimately reached and De Gea departed as a free agent in the summer, subsequently finding himself without a job, while Man Utd splashed €50 million on Ten Hag's former Ajax protégé Andre Onana.

De Gea reacts to Ten Hag sacking

Now, Ten Hag, the man who axed De Gea, has now found himself on the chopping block, getting the boot after overseeing Man Utd's worst-ever start to a Premier League season - off the back of the club's worst finish to a campaign.

With his Fiorentina side having just defeated Serie A giants AS Roma 5-1, De Gea was seemingly in a mischievous mood when he came across the news of Ten Hag's sacking.

READ MORE: What next for Erik ten Hag after Man Utd sacking?

The Spaniard took to X to seemingly share his thoughts on the matter, simply posting a 'chef's kiss' or pinched fingers emoji, which supporters inevitably took to mean that he is delighted about Ten Hag losing his job.