David de Gea already 'upset' with Man Utd managerial contender after phone call

Manchester United star David de Gea was bitterly disappointed with Luis Enrique as he was told he had been excluded from the Spain squad for their recent friendlies, according to reports in his homeland.

The goalkeeper, 31, has made 45 appearances for La Roja but the last of these came all the way back in October 2020. De Gea has struggled for consistency at club level in recent seasons but he has looked back to his best recently, boosting his chances of a return to favour on the international stage.

However, Spain manager Enrique passed over the former Atletico Madrid man for the recent fixtures against Albania and Iceland, instead picking Athletic Bilbao's Unai Simon, Brighton 's Robert Sanchez and Brentford's David Raya.

De Gea has been a mainstay in the squad for many years even as his United form has fluctuated, so he was aghast to be informed he would not be linking up with his compatriots over the last fortnight. That is according to Diario AS, per Sport Witness, which claims the shot-stopper was especially angry with Enrique as he did not agree with the reasoning behind his omission from the squad. The 51-year-old briefly mentioned De Gea after the 5-0 victory over Iceland on Tuesday, saying: "David, I want to try other goalkeepers."

Enrique has managed Spain since 2019, leading them to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 last summer. De Gea, meanwhile, has not represented his country since he made a costly mistake to gift Ukraine victory in a Nations League fixture. If reports in Spain are to be believed, there is growing tension between player and manager which will not bode well for United if they pursue Enrique as their next boss.

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The Barcelona hero is highly regarded having led the Catalan giants to the continental treble in 2015 and Old Trafford chiefs named him on their four-manager shortlist to take over this summer. The others included were PSG's Mauricio Pochettino, Ajax's Erik ten Hag and Sevilla's Julen Lopetegui. Ten Hag and Pochettino are regarded as the leading contenders for the United hot seat while Lopetegui appears to have ruled himself out of the running.

Meanwhile, Enrique did not shut the door to managing the Red Devils but insisted he will lead Spain at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this winter, which would prevent him from arriving in the Premier League this summer, when Ralf Rangnick's spell as interim will end. Spain are due to face Portugal, Czech Republic and Switzerland in the Nations League in June, presenting De Gea with the chance to earn a recall.