David De Gea move to Real Madrid would not anger Atletico Madrid fans according to club's former manager

United keeper widely expected to leave Manchester this summer

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea (Getty Images)

Atletico Madrid fans will not be angered if David De Gea moves from Manchester United to their cross-city rivals Real Madrid, according to the club's former manager Abel Resino.

It is understood that United have given up trying to convince their Spanish keeper, who previously played for Atletico Madrid, to ignore the interest of Real Madrid, although they are keen to get the highest possible price for De Gea.

The 24-year-old is widely expected to leave Manchester either this summer or next, with Resino not anticipating any resentment from De Gea's former club should the move go ahead.

"I don't think the fans would hold it against him if he signed for Real Madrid," Resino told Marca. "It's true, though, that this sort of scenario used to be more difficult.

"For example, I would have been hard-pressed to go to Real Madrid. I couldn't imagine Casillas at Atletico or Barca now either, but it's not like De Gea played for Atleti for that long.

"There's no longer such a strong sense of belonging."

He added: "I gave De Gea his debut for Atletico Madrid [against Zaragoza]. Everyone wanted him to be loaned out because he hadn't played much."