David de Gea says there have been “too many years without trophies” after Manchester United’s Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid extended their silverware drought to five years.
United have not won a trophy since Jose Mourinho guided them to the Europa League in 2016-17.
“Of course it’s not good enough,” said United keeper De Gea.
“There are too many years without any trophies, even without fighting for trophies.
“We need to be clear we want to achieve good things and fight for trophies. We don’t just want to play for the top four and get out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals.
“So we need much more from everyone because this club is too big for where we are now. We are far from the fighting places for the Premier League, for the Champions League, so we need much more from everyone.”
United have now been knocked out in six of their past eight Champions League knockout-stage ties.
They face a significant contest to qualify for next season’s competition – as they are fifth in the Premier League, one point below Arsenal, who have three games in hand.
De Gea added that there was frustration with United’s overall performance.
He said: “This is where we are at the moment. It’s a difficult situation. We have to keep fighting. I feel very sad. But we were not good enough.
“We are really disappointed with the result. It’s difficult to put into words how we feel now at the moment. We did not enough in both games to win it. It’s a very disappointing day for us.”
Defeat raised the question of whether Tuesday’s match will prove to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last appearance in the Champions League.
Ronaldo, 37, is the tournament’s all-time top scorer and has lifted the trophy five times, first doing so with United in 2007-08 before winning it four times with Real Madrid.
He failed to have a shot during Tuesday’s defeat.
Former England winger Chris Waddle, a BBC Radio 5 Live pundit at Old Trafford, said: “I did not get Cristiano Ronaldo’s role tonight, coming into midfield. I didn’t get that. There was nothing in the box so if you do cross it, there is nobody there.”
‘It was easy for time-wasting antics’
United’s interim boss Ralf Rangnick bemoaned Atletico’s tactics in the second half and also questioned the officials, feeling there was a foul on Anthony Elanga in the build-up to the game’s only goal.
“Against a team like Atletico, it is highly important you score the first goal yourself,” said Rangnick. “If you don’t do that, it is even more important not to concede a goal.
“One minute before half-time, we conceded that goal in a transitional moment.
“I believe there was a foul on Anthony Elanga before that but the linesman and referee did not see it that way – I think we shouldn’t have been 1-0 down at half time, I think we were the better team in the first half.”
Rangnick added: “In the second half, I don’t know if the game was played for more than two minutes without somebody lying on the floor.
“I think there were some curious refereeing decisions. I wouldn’t necessarily say they were decisive, maybe the one before they scored, but I think the referee made it pretty easy for Atletico to do their time-wasting antics and that didn’t make it any easier for us.
“It was frustrating and difficult for us in the second half. From normal play, we didn’t produce that many chances.”
Atletico coach Simeone was, however, full of praise for his team’s commitment.
“This team will dive into a swimming pool whether there is water in it or not,” he said. “When the team works as a team like this, it excites me. We were competitive.
“The goal gave us the advantage and in the second half there was brilliant collective work, one of the best this season, which leaves me happy.”
‘Man Utd need cleaning out’
Waddle says the club needs “cleaning out” and have a lot of rebuilding to do.
“Thomas Tuchel has been mentioned as the potential next manager of Manchester United, because of the state Chelsea are in, but will he look at it and think ‘wow, this is a massive job, where do we start?’,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It needs cleaning out. They need a scouting system, they need a youth system again. It is basically starting from scratch. They have let themselves run and thought money would bail them out, and it hasn’t.
“They need to start from the beginning, get the right personnel in and you are talking years before they will be able to compete with Manchester City.
“Manchester United have got a lot of rebuilding to do. They have got to put their focus on getting into the top four and make sure of Champions League football next season.”
