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De Gea sends message to Spurs keeper Kinsky after ‘man-management at its very worst’ claim
Robin Bairner
- 11 Mar 2026 03:10 CDT
- 4 min read
News
Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was sent a message by former Atletico Madrid and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea after enduring a nightmare evening in the Champions League.
Kinsky was pulled out of the match after just 17 minutes as Spurs made a nightmare start to the game at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The 22-year-old was making his debut in the Champions League proper after being preferred to Guglielmo Vicario, but was replaced by the Italian as his side slumped to a 3-0 deficit early on.
Current ETV
Antonín Kinský
GK
Tottenham
Antonín Kinský
GK
Tottenham
ETV Range
€18M - €22M
What happened to Kinsky?
The match was only six minutes old when the Czech goalkeeper slipped as he tried to make a clearance from a back pass. The ball went straight to Atleti, who completed a handful of slick passes before Marcos Llorente slipped the ball into the net for the opening goal.
The Czech was not to blame for the second as a slip from Micky van de Ven on the obviously difficult surface allowed Antoine Griezmann to streak in to score.
Fingers were pointed at the former Slavia Prague star 60 seconds later, though, as he attempted an awkward pass across the box only to send the ball to Julian Alvarez, who made it three.
At this point, embattled Spurs boss Igor Tudor decided he had seen enough and replaced the youngster, who had only played two League Cup games this season, with Vicario.
‘Man management at its very worst’
Perhaps the real controversy followed at this moment. Kinsky was ignored by Tudor as he departed the pitch and marched straight down the tunnel to be consoled by members of Spurs' backroom staff. Several of his team-mates had shown their sympathy for him as he left the pitch, notably Kevin Danso.
Tudor’s blanking of the player was greeted with hostility. TNT pundit Joe Hart, a former England and Manchester City goalkeeper, was left appalled by the manager’s actions.
“He's had a bad 14 minutes, there's absolutely no getting away from it. Even the stadium is feeling sorry for him. You see Tudor doesn't even acknowledge his goalie. If that's man management, I'm flabbergasted,” Hart said.
“I've been trying to make sense of it, and my overall feeling is, my heart is absolutely broken for the lad. I know it's a tough school, it's Champions League, it's such an important game.”
Steve McManaman branded Tudor’s actions “man management at its very, very worst”.
De Gea delivers Kinsky message
De Gea was quick to deliver a more upbeat message to Kinsky via social channels.
At half-time in the match, the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper tweeted: “No one who hasn't been a goalkeeper can understand how difficult it is to play in this position.
“Keep your head up and you will go again.”
De Gea knew difficult periods in his career and was often criticised during his time at Manchester United, despite the Old Trafford club now looking back fondly on his efforts in goal.
Kinsky, meanwhile, faces a far more difficult challenge to rebuild his Spurs career after a nightmare evening in the spotlight.
