David de Gea: Manchester United can breathe easy after Real Madrid drop pursuit of Spanish goalkeeper

Manchester United can breathe easy going into this summer's transfer window after Real Madrid retracted their interest in signing goalkeeper David de Gea. The Spanish stopper was on the verge of completing a move to the Santiago Bernabeu during last year's transfer window, but the protracted negotiations between the two clubs meant they failed to submit the papers on time and missed the deadline.

According to Spanish daily Marca, the 11-time Champions League winners have now pulled the plug on the move despite their initial plans of reigniting their interest, as Zinedine Zidane is satisfied with the stoppers at his disposal. Keylor Navas, who is the current Real number one, has impressed the Frenchman, while his understudy Kiko Casillas has also settled in well in the group following his arrival from Espanyol last summer.

Moreover, according to AS, the Spanish capital club will have to trigger De Gea's release clause of €50m (£39.1m, $56.4m), which was inserted into the new contract he signed following the transfer fiasco last summer. The clause, however, is valued only until 15 June, following which the Red Devils can demand a price that suits them.

The Marca report suggests the Real hierarchy held a meeting with the Spain international's agent Jorge Mendez following which a decision to drop their pursuit of his client was finalised. De Gea himself had distanced himself with a move to the Spanish capital earlier in the summer when he revealed he was looking forward to working with Jose Mourinho, who was appointed the Red Devils boss following the dismissal of Louis van Gaal.

"Talk about Jose Mourinho and you're talking about a winner. Winning is United's, Jose's and my philosophy. We can make a great team and I welcome him. I've got three more years on my contract with United and the desire to win more titles here," the Red Devils goalkeeper said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.