Recently, De Gea was interviewed by Italian media cronache di spogliatoio and talked about his story with Messi and Ronaldo.
You had the chance to be teammates with Ronaldo in Real Madrid, but you still met at Manchester United later.
De Gea: "What makes me funny is that someone doesn't understand the message I left under the news of Riyadh's victory renewal. Ronaldo is a beast. Although I know you've been tired of hearing this, it's really unscientific. He is 40 years old and is still scoring goals and winning championships. He always has a strong desire for competition.
His self-discipline is terrifying, and only one or two people can do this in football history. You can perform well in one or two years, but continue to output like him for 20 years?"
You told Ronaldo about him, so you have to ask your story about Messi.
De Gea: "Once I hit Messi hard with my shoulders. I thought I could push him out 3 meters away. At that time, I played at Atletico Madrid and was still very young. I wanted him to know my existence and give him a warning. After I got the ball, I deliberately used my shoulders to hit him hard and rushed towards him with the strength of my whole body. I swear, he didn't move at all, just like marble! The impact was really fierce, but he didn't move a centimeter.
This once again proves that he, like Cristiano Ronaldo, has always arranged everything in his career in an orderly manner: focus on his performance. Although Messi is short, his physical fitness is incredibly good. This physique also requires strong willpower to forge. So I was thinking, who can reach their level in a few years? Not just a season or two...but lasts for twenty years!"