By Andrew Warshaw
September 2 – The summer transfer window may have slammed shut with the English market forking out a record £870 million as it again dominated the spending landscape but it was the moves which didn’t go through that raised eyebrows – with clubs and players alike indulging in an unsavoury blame game.
Top of the list was the breakdown of the protracted move of Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to Real Madrid.
Real have been persuing the 24-year-old for months with the player sidelined by United boss Louis van Gaal during the process. But when the deal failed to get over the line, both clubs blamed each other for what turned into a bureaucratic farce.
Real said they did “everything” they could to complete the £29 million deal but missed the deadline by two minutes. De Gea was due to have headed for Madrid with Keylor Navas going the other way but in a detailed 10-point statement Real accused United of club of taking eight hours to fine-tune the arrangements.
The Spaniards would appear to be to blame for having failed to complete the transfer through FIFA’s transfer matching system, TMS, but insisted United had not agreed to open a “channel of negotiation” for the transfer until Monday afternoon even though preliminary unofficial discussions are believed to have taken place for weeks. Real also accused United of stalling by inserting “small modifications” late on which were nevertheless accepted.
United responded by publishing a statement giving a very different version of events and described De Gea as “a key member” of the squad whom they had not wanted to sell.
According to United’s version, at 20 minutes to midnight “major changes to the documentation came through (from Real) which immediately put the deals at risk.
“Only (five minutes before the deadline) were the documents that are needed to cancel David’s contract received by Manchester United from Real Madrid. Manchester United acts appropriately and efficiently in its transfer dealings.”
Whichever version is closer to the truth, the repercussions are numerous for all parties. De Gea’s contract expires at the end of the season when he can leave for free – unless he is sold in January. Until then, the player himself could continue to find himself out in the cold if van Gaal carries on employing Argentina international Sergio Romero instead. For their part Real wanted De Gea as a long-term replacement for Iker Casillas, the former club captain who joined Porto in July.
The United-Real spat wasn’t the only one to set tongues wagging. The debate over player power was rekindled when West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino, one of English football’s brightest prospects, declared his intention on social media never to play for the club again under its current chairman after being denied a move to Tottenham Hotspur who made four bids for him including two on deadline day.
Spurs also missed out on Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama while Arsenal are reported to have refused to pay £50m for Paris St-Germain forward Edinson Cavani.
Man Utd did manage to sign Monaco forward Anthony Martial for £36 million, though club captain Wayne Rooney had to reportedly ask one of his team mates who he is.
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