De Gea agreed to be a spectator

David De Gea told Manchester United he did not want to play in the club's season-opener against Tottenham, manager Louis van Gaal revealed on Thursday.

Van Gaal selected debutant Sergio Romero for the 1-0 win over Spurs while Sam Johnstone was on the bench and De Gea watched from the directors' box.

But Van Gaal has insisted that, rather than axing United's reigning player of the year, he merely acceded to De Gea's wishes and said his omission was a mutual decision.