<
>

David De Gea to stay at Manchester United, says Jorges Mendes

David De Gea's agent has told BBC Sport the goalkeeper is staying at Manchester United, but stopped short of saying whether the 24-year-old would sign a new contract.

United's reigning Player of the Year is out of contract in 2016 and is the subject of reported interest from Real Madrid.

The former Premier League champions are thought to be keen to keep De Gea for the long term, but there is no sign of resolution to contract talks.

As it stands, he could leave Old Trafford on a free transfer at the end of next season but Jorges Mendes said: "He has one year left on his contract and I think that he will stay in Manchester. The player will decide, but he's happy there, at the moment."

Mendes also told United that they should have hired Jose Mourinho to replace Sir Alex Ferguson when he retired, claiming the Portuguese is a similar "genius."

Mourinho, who is represented by Mendes, moved to Chelsea in 2013 in the same summer United hired David Moyes as Ferguson's successor.

And while Louis van Gaal is United manager now, and his team are 10 points behind league leaders Chelsea, Mendes implied they would be top of the league if they had hired Mourinho.

He added: "It is completely impossible to find someone like Sir Alex Ferguson because he's a god, he's a genius and to find a genius is very difficult. You have one in England: Jose Mourinho.

"Having Sir Alex Ferguson ensures at this moment you have 12 or 15 points more. He's finished his career, but he's someone that's the difference."