Louis van Gaal refused to confirm whether Real Madrid target David de Gea would stay at Manchester United, commenting “you never know in football”.
The goalkeeper, who has been heavily linked with Los Blancos as a replacement for Iker Casillas, completed 62 minutes of United’s 3-1 victory over Barca in the International Champions Cup, before being replaced by Anders Lindegaard.
However, Van Gaal was surprisingly cryptic in his post-match assessment of De Gea, given his admission that he expected the 24-year-old to still be at Old Trafford for their Premier League opener against Tottenham only a few days ago.
“I’d like and hope that De Gea stays, but you never know in football,” the manager said after the game.
“He was recovering from an injury and played well.
Van Gaal also fuelled speculation linking former Madrid man Angel di Maria with Paris Saint-Germain.
“I heard that [Di Maria] was not on the team plane, I can’t say any more than that,” he concluded.
