David de Gea will tonight return to his boyhood club tonight for the first time since he left 11 years ago.
At the age of just 18 years old, De Gea shined for Atleti - quickly winning the number one goalkeeping spot from fellow teenager Sergio Asenjo - now at at Villarreal - and former West Ham keeper Roberto, who plys his trade at Valladolid.
He would hold the position for 18 months, before Manchester United became aware of his performances.
Scouts at United begun regularly showing up at games - making their interest known.
On his way to becoming a legend at his boyhood club, De Gea would have a choice to make - take a risk in joining one of the biggest clubs in world football, in a foreign country at the age of just 20, or remain at the club he loved as a boy.
Emilio Alvarez had been goalkeeper coach at Atleti at the time - later joining United - and has spoken about the process of how he joined United.
He told The Athletic: "It was a process. The gossip started, saying David should be in the national team. Many good clubs were interested, including Real Madrid.
"I remember speaking to Jose Mourinho at the time. Casillas was still there.
"It was six or seven months before he signed for United that I knew people from Manchester were coming to watch his performances. It was at the end of the season when the offer came over and it was time to make a decision."
He added: "My point of view was to push and say to David he had to go to United. You can’t say no to one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"For him and the family, it was a big and a difficult decision because they did not speak English and it was a whole change of life. And he had something good in his hands, he was one of the best players in Atletico.
"The crowd had him as one of their favourites. But I said to him: you will be one of the best keepers in the history of United and the Premier League.
"It was not a unilateral decision by David. It was completely agreed between the club. The club had a really good deal."
De Gea decided to take the aforementioned risk, joining United for an £18 million fee - replacing Edwin van der Sar.
At the beginning, things did not look to promising. De Gea's first year in the Premier League had some good moments, but was largely criticised for a number of high-profile mistakes.
He even admitted that he considered leaving after the first season, but decided against it.
That's a decision that he probably doesn't regret - going on to become one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation - winning the Premier League and six other major honours.
He'll return to his hometown in a professional capacity for the first time this week, and Alvarez explained what his relationship like is with the club, and Spanish fans' perspective on the United stopper.
Alvarez says: "This is difficult to understand and to explain. Here in Spain when a player goes out from La Liga, it is as though something has broken from the crowd when you leave.
"There are very few players who have kept the same love. David has played for a long time in the Premier League and it creates more space between the people and the player.
"It is something I was fighting here for many years, trying to explain through the media to try and bring back this connection."
De Gea is yet to play in the Wanda Metropolitano stadium since they moved there back in 2017.
