David De Gea is Manchester United's best player, and there can be little debate on the matter. He has been named their player of the season for four of the last five years, and is perhaps the best goalkeeper in world football.
With negotiations ongoing over a new contract, he wants that fact to be reflected in any new deal. With his current contract set to expire at the end of next season, the pressure is on United to come to an agreement with the player. If they fail to do so, they would have to consider selling the Spaniard this summer, or risk losing him on a free in 2020.
The likes of Juventus and PSG are monitoring the situation, while the interest of Real Madrid could return once more after Thibaut Courtois' disappointing debut season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It appears that De Gea would prefer to stay at Old Trafford, however, and has apparently named his price to sign on the dotted line. The Irish Independent are reporting that the player wants to become the highest earner at the club, matching the salary of Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean international moved to Manchester in January of 2018, and earns around £500,ooo per-week when bonuses and image rights are included. De Gea wants to match that figure. He earns £240,000 per-week at the moment, meaning he would more than double his current salary.
It seems United have backed themselves into a corner on this one. De Gea is undoubtedly their best and most consistent performer, and deserves to be the club's top earner. By giving such a massive deal to Sanchez last year, this type of situation was always going to arise.
Perhaps United didn't consider that giving the Chilean such a monstrous pay package could come back to bite them down the line, but it certainly has in more ways than one. His wage could perhaps be defended were he performing well on the pitch, but he has been an unmitigated disaster at Old Trafford.
A precedent has now been set at the club, and you can expect plenty more lucrative deals to be sanctioned at Old Trafford in the not too distant future.
