Ander Herrera has defended Manchester United teammate and fellow Spaniard David de Gea by saying the goalkeeper was only criticised for his World Cup performance because of the world-class status he had earned.
“I don’t care what the critics say,” Herrera said. “He is the best goalkeeper in the world, by far, and he will show it again.
“When you are the best goalkeeper in the world and you don’t make those amazing saves, everyone is going to talk.
“When I don’t play very well, I don’t get that criticism because I am not one of the best in the world, but he is, so it’s normal and he will cope with it.
“He is so strong. I remember when I was in Spain and he signed for the club [in 2011], the first couple of months were hard for him and he became the best goalkeeper in the world in the next four years, so I am very relaxed about him.
“We are very lucky to have him.”
De Gea was criticised after spilling a Cristiano Ronaldo shot during Spain’s 3-3 draw with Portugal during La Roja’s opening World Cup game. That error came after a similar one during a warm-up game against Switzerland.
Herrera has backed United fans to help De Gea recover after his World Cup nightmare.
“They are very loyal. They have already shown that to him and he knows he’s going to get them back.
“We are very relaxed because he is going to show again that he is the best in the world and he will give us again eight or 10 points this season.
“I remember that difficult summer [2015] when everyone was talking about Real Madrid and he played the first game at Old Trafford and everyone was singing his name and he told me: ‘This is amazing, they are the best.'”
