Manchester United: David de Gea vs Edwin Van der Sar stats and honours

Manchester United have always had a formidable goalkeeper in their Premier League history be it Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van der Sar or their current number one David de Gea. Let's have a look at the careers of Van der Sar and De Gea at United.

Manchester United: Career path

Edwin Van der Sar joined Manchester United from Fulham in May 2005 for an undisclosed transfer fee at the age of 34. He immediately became a key figure in the United defence. Over the years, he became known as being a complete goalkeeper with excellent reflexes and positional senses. He would eventually make 266 appearances for United before retiring at the end of the 2010-11 season at the age of 40. His last game for United was against Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final, which United lost 3–1.

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David De Gea joined United from Atletico Madrid in June 2011 for £18.9 million at the age of 20. He made 39 appearances in all competitions in his first season although having an indifferent season. However, in the years to come, De Gea has forged his reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the world; known for his reflexes and reactions. De Gea has so far made 371 appearances for United.

Stats War

Van der Sar has 90 clean-sheets for United in the Premier League. He kept 14 consecutive clean-sheets in the Premier League; which is a league record between 22 November 2008 – 18 February 2009. He managed to keep 20 clean-sheets in a single season for United in the 2008-09 season.

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David de Gea has so far kept 103 clean-sheets for United. He has kept a high 18 clean sheets in a single season during the 2017-18 season.

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Honours: Team and Individual

Van der Sar has won 4 Premier League Titles, 3 Community Shields, 1 each League Cup, Club World Cup and Champions League with United.

Individually, he has been a part of 3 PFA team of the years, winning a Premier League Golden Glove and UEFA goalkeeper of the year in 2009.

De Gea has won one each of a Premier League Title, Europa League, League Cup and FA Cup and 3 Community Shields.

Individually, he has been a part of 5 PFA Team of the years, once in FIFA FIFPro World XI. He has been a 4 time Matt Busby Player of the year and has won the Premier League Golden Glove in 2017-18.

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What do we conclude?

It is pretty clear that Van der Sar seems to be ahead concerning stats; partly thanks to him being a  part over the core United Squad during their glory years of dominance. De Gea, however, has been a part and experienced member of their post-Fergie development era. He has been a shining light during multiple seasons. Both of them will surely be fondly remembered by United fans, It just has to be seen if De Gea can inspire a United rebuilt and take them back to the top.