David de Gea shows true colours with message to Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinsky

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David de Gea shared a touching message of support for Antonin Kinsky after the young Tottenham goalkeeper was brutally substituted after just 17 minutes against Atletico Madrid .

Kinsky, 22, has spent the majority of his time at Spurs as No 2 to Guglielmo Vicario but was given the nod to start in Tuesday night's pivotal Champions League round-of-16 tie in Madrid. Unfortunately for the Czech Republic youth international and Tottenham, things could hardly have gone worse during his brief time on the pitch.

He was at fault for two goals as Spurs found themselves 3-0 down inside 15 minutes and looked devastated when Igor Tudor decided to take him off minutes later.

Tudor's harsh treatment of the young keeper has been heavily criticised by fans and pundits alike and now De Gea , who played over 400 Premier League games, has spoken out in support of Kinsky on X.

The former Manchester United keeper posted: "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."

Kinsky was consoled by some of his team-mates as he trudged over to the touchline but Tudor failed to even acknowledge his goalkeeper after he left the pitch.

A furious Joe Hart subsequently tore into the Croatian for ignoring Kinsky, telling TNT Sports: "To get to this level, signed by Spurs, one mistake does not alter you. That is a technical error, but what precedes that... was it the right decision? Maybe it was. But what I saw after...

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"I hate being reactive because I like to know all the facts. But the fact he has taken him off in that situation having played him... he is young, 22, he is not a man, he has done nothing to try and hurt Spurs.

"[He had] a couple of bad moments, but to rip him off in this situation and not even acknowledge the guy? Every single one of Tottenham's players who are feeling the pain don't know what to do. How is that good for him?"

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