De Gea ready for 'unbelievable' milestone
Sunday will be a huge occasion for David De Gea if he faces Newcastle United - it will be the goalkeeper's 500th appearance for Manchester United.
The Spaniard, who joined the Reds from Atletico Madrid back in June 2011, will become just the 11th player in our history to reach the milestone when he takes to the field at Old Trafford.
De Gea joins Ryan Giggs, Sir Bobby Charlton, Paul Scholes, Bill Foulkes, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Alex Stepney, Tony Dunne, Denis Irwin and Joe Spence in achieving the feat, with Stepney being the only keeper ahead of the 31-year-old in our all-time appearances list.
David has won the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League during his time in Manchester, plus numerous individual accolades, including the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, which he has claimed a joint-record four times.
He will be recognised for his efforts at the Theatre of Dreams prior to kick-off on Sunday, when he will be presented with an engraved plate. Our no.1 will also don a pair of specially designed gloves, created by adidas, for the match against the Magpies.
De Gea recently gave us an in-depth interview about his career landmark, which will be released across our official media in the coming days.
“I think it’s something crazy,” David told us.
“To play 500 games for this club is very special for me, of course, but probably I will realise more when I stop playing football, when I retire and then look back and say ‘OK, I played more than 500 games for a massive club like United.’
“I’m super proud and it’s amazing, to be honest.
“Just to be part of this club is massive and it’s so difficult to get here, so it’s a dream to be here and already play as much as I’ve played. It’s unbelievable.”
Congratulations on a superb achievement, David. We're looking forward to marking it with you on Sunday.