UNITED GO TO WAR
Real blamed for fiasco over failed De Gea deal
MANCHESTER UNITED were at war with Real Madrid last night over the collapse of David de Gea’s move.
The £29million deal that also involved Madrid g goalkeeper Keylor Navas joining United fell through w when Real failed to register De Gea as their player in ti time for the Spanish transfer deadline at midnight o on Monday.
Madrid were widely blamed for the fiasco yesterday, with one Old Trafford source describing it as ‘a a car crash waiting to happen’.
United yesterday also confirmed the signing of Monaco’s 19-year-old forward Anthony Martial in a £36m deal. But that move was utterly eclipsed by ti tit-for-tat accusations and bitter recriminations b between United and Real.
The Spaniards issued a 10-point statement allegin ing that United instigated negotiations to resolve th the long-running transfer saga but were then at fault
for holding up the deal. It concluded: ‘In short, Real has done everything necessary, and at all times, for these two transfers to go through.’ But United hit back last night with an official statement of their own, insisting Madrid made the first move with an opening offer believed to be in the region of £11m plus Navas, and were to blame for registering De Gea too late.
The club said: ‘Manchester United acts appropriately and efficiently in its transfer dealings.’
Privately, United believe Madrid got cold feet over the deal and sabotaged it because of a surge in support for Navas from their own fans.
The source dismissed claims from Real that they took eight hours to return the paperwork as ‘absolute rubbish’ and revealed that there was a significant change to the terms of De Gea’s contract just 20 minutes before the deadline.
United had a jet on standby to bring Navas to Manchester for a medical but were unable to make contact with his agent for three hours, and were then told by Madrid that the Costa Rica international did not need to fly.
At that point, there was no time to conduct the medical in England so they agreed effectively to do it over the phone from Spain.
Despite the collapse of the deal, it is understood Navas made contact with United yesterday morning to see if he could still move to Old Trafford because the English deadline was not until 6pm.
Meanwhile, De Gea has had to come to terms with the fact that his dream move may have to wait until next summer when he will be a free agent, and must now return to United to repair his relationship with manager Louis van Gaal and goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek.
Van Gaal has made De Gea train with the club’s Under 21s in recent weeks and ruled him out of his plans after revealing that the keeper told Hoek he did not want to play for United amid the intense speculation.
But De Gea is confident he will be welcomed back into the first team and United believe there will be no problem re- integrating him into the squad despite the disappointment of the last 48 hours.
The former Atletico Madrid keeper is still on £60,000 a week at Old Trafford after rejecting a new, £200,000 deal earlier this year. He stands to lose about £5m if he stays at United until next summer, but it is believed that he will receive £ 7.3m from Madrid as part of the failed deal. This arises from an agreement between Real and De Gea prior to negotiations designed to ensure the move was not hijacked by another club.
The 24-year-old, who is currently on international duty with Spain, was still hopeful the deal would go through in the early hours yesterday but learned at around 10.30am that it could not be salvaged, and that an appeal to FIFA or the Spanish Football League was impossible.
De Gea wanted the deal concluded by the start of pre- season and a source close him revealed last night that he is ‘shell-shocked’ by the turn of events and devastated after being promised the move by agent Jorge Mendes throughout the summer.
The source said: ‘Of course this is a huge disappointment for David but life is difficult sometimes and he has had to deal with a lot of setbacks before in his career.
‘What we know about David is that he always picks himself back up and proves his character and quality.’
De Gea, who had signed a contract and passed a medical ahead of a planned presentation in Madrid, arrived at Spain’s Cuidad de Futbol training ground last night and walked past waiting reporters without making any comment.
He will train with his Spanish team-mates today and tomorrow before travelling to Oviedo for the crucial Euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia, and is due back in Manchester next week.
Meanwhile, United clinched the move for Martial (left) in a deal that could rise to £58m — a world record for a teenager. The youngster believes he can handle the weight of expectation, saying: ‘I know there is pressure but I’m ready for it.
‘I’m very happy because it’s a big club in England and I’ve worked hard for this. I spoke with the coach and I know that I need to work very hard. I will be ready when the time comes (to make his debut).’
Monaco wanted to keep Martial but the club’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev admitted that United’s bid was too good to turn down. He said: ‘Manchester United made an incredible offer that neither Anthony nor AS Monaco could refuse.’