Donny van de Beek releases heartfelt statement as Man Utd star agrees to quit

Manchester United star Donny van de Beek has expressed his gratitude towards the club, looking set to escape an unfortunate situation at Old Trafford with a potential transfer to Spanish outfit Girona.

The 27-year-old midfielder let fans know of the impending club switch via an Instagram post, stating: "Dear Manchester United family. Today is a memorable day as my adventure at the club comes to an end. I want to thank you all for your support throughout the years."

He continued expressing his sentiments by adding: "From the moment we arrived at Manchester United, we felt extremely welcome and we are grateful for that. Thank you to everyone at the club for making us feel at home. A special thanks to all the fans that made these years unforgettable."

The Dutchman also shared something close to his heart: "Besides the football, the birth of our two children here ensures that Manchester will always have a special place in our hearts. Good luck to everybody, we'll meet again."

His departure prompted heartfelt words from Man United captain Bruno Fernandes who responded to Van de Beek's post with: "You deserve the best," paired with a red heart emoji."

Van de Beek's move to Girona comes at a low cost for the Spanish side, thought to be around €450,000 (£380,000) up front. This figure could potentially rise to €4.5m (£3.8m) upon fulfilment of a few stipulations.

For United, this culminates in a considerable deficit, having splurged £35m to acquire the Dutchman from Ajax.

Since joining Manchester United, he's only managed to make 62 appearances and netted a mere two goals. The midfielder was loaned out to Everton in the latter half of the 2021/22 season in an attempt to rejuvenate his Premier League career, but he only featured seven times.

Van de Beek's chances didn't improve much after his stint at Eintracht Frankfurt last season, where he played just eight times during a six-month loan. He even missed out on the German team's European squad, leading to an apology from then-manager Dino Topmoller.

At the time, Toppmoller remarked: "He's only played a total of four games in the last two years, so it won't happen overnight. But I have 100 per cent confidence in his quality, he'll definitely help us in the second half of the season. I told Donny that I was sorry but also what I expected from him now."

Erik ten Hag, who was Van de Beek's boss at Ajax, has tried to shed light on why the player hasn't lived up to expectations at Old Trafford, citing: "He has had many injuries, first of all.

"From the first moment I came in here at Manchester United, he wasn't the player he was at Ajax because he was injured. So many times he was not available and then he struggled for a long time to recover from that injury. That is probably the main reason why he was not playing.

"We decided for a loan in the summer but it didn't come and then his opportunities are few because also we make appointments and we make agreements with players and contract players in that position. The competition was high."