AFTER REAL MADRID laid the blame firmly at the door of Manchester United for David De Gea’s proposed move to the Bernabeu falling through, United have hit back with a statement of their own this evening.
United have claimed that all documentation the club were in control of were returned and submitted on time, and that the responsibility was Real’s to make the deal go through.
United say they first received a bid for De Gea yesterday, and that if Real Madrid were so desparate to sign him, they should have acted sooner.
“Manchester United did not seek contact from Real Madrid for the sale of David. David is a key member of our squad and the club’s preference was not to sell. No offer was received for David until yesterday.
“At lunchtime yesterday, Real Madrid made its first offer to buy David. A deal was agreed between the clubs, which included Navas being transferred to Old Trafford. The deals were dependent on each other,” a statement read.
United then claim that all essential paperwork was submitted by the club before the Spanish deadline of 11pm UK time, and say that the FA have confirmed they can support that claim if necessary.
Read Manchester United’s statement in full >>>
“In the last several hours of the process, with Navas at the Real Madrid training ground, Real Madrid were controlling the documentation processes of David, Navas and Real Madrid. Manchester United was in control only of the documentation of Manchester United.
“Manchester United sent transfer documents for both players to Real Madrid at 20:42 BST. David’s documentation was returned by Real Madrid to Manchester United without the signatory page at 2232 BST.
“At 22:40 BST, minutes before the deadline, major changes to the documentation came through to Manchester United which immediately put the deals at risk. Only at 22:55 BST were the documents that are needed to cancel David’s contract received by Manchester United from Real Madrid.
“At this point Navas’ documentation was still not returned by Real Madrid.
“At 22:58 BST, the transfer agreement was sent back by Manchester United, uploaded onto TMS and accepted – all before the deadline.”
Despite Real claiming the deal fell through because of United’s carelessness, United say that the fault lies firmly at the door of the Bernabeu.
“Real Madrid didn’t upload David’s documents onto TMS in time (Manchester United did).
“Real Madrid didn’t upload David’s documents to the Spanish league in time, per reports it seems some 28 minutes after the deadline. The fact that Manchester United filed the papers on time was acknowledged by the Football Association, who offered to support that claim in any discussions with FIFA. The Club offered this assistance, as well as its own timestamped documents to Real Madrid but they have chosen not to go down this route.”
