Where can you go after you have given your life to Manchester United? Nowhere at all, is the conclusion David de Gea seems to have come to.
Juan Mata is enjoying life in Japan and has won his second league title since leaving United in 2022 while Nemanja Matic, who left the same summer as Mata, is a regular starter for Rennes having spent last season playing under Jose Mourinho at Roma.
But De Gea, who is two years younger than both Mata and Matic, has been without a club since his sudden and sad departure from the Red Devils in June.
United had their reasons for not wanting to continue with a goalkeeper who struggled to cope with the ball-playing demands of modern elite football, and who appeared to be past his best at shot-stopping. But the manner of his exit, which came about after United withdrew their previous offer of a contract to him, left a bad taste.
Many players in a similar position might have been motivated to join a rival club and prove they could still perform at the highest level, but De Gea did not find a one that he fancied and has spent the last few months enjoying a different pace of life back in his home city of Madrid.
The former Spain international would seem an obvious choice to any top-level club looking for an experienced goalkeeper in the January transfer window. But will De Gea, who has spent so long playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and earning one of the biggest salaries in the world, be interested?