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Manchester United came out with a strong statement in response to the one released by Real Madrid on the failed last-minute transfer of David de Gea to Los Blancos. On their official website, the club released a set of points clarifying the timeline of events and the nature of contact that was made between the 2 parties over the transfer of the Spanish custodian. They even offered the Football Association as a supporting factor to their argument.
Real Madrid had a press conference earlier in the day when Florentino Perez issued a statement assigning the blame of the failure to complete the transfer of the Spaniard on the Manchester club. The allegation was primarily that United had failed to submit the requisite documents on time which caused the registration to go past the deadline.
While Perez insisted that there was no contact from Manchester United over the transfer till yesterday, the English club justified its actions stating De Gea was a key member of their squad and not one they intended to sell, also adding that they did not receive an offer for him till yesterday.
On the receipt of the offer at lunchtime, a deal was made between the 2 parties including Keylor Navas and according to the statement the two deals were predicated on each other.
The crucial point they make is that Real were “controlling the documentation processes of David, Navas and Real Madrid. Manchester United was in control only of the documentation of Manchester United.”
They claim that they sent the documentation for both players to Real Madrid by 2042 BST and only De Gea’s documents were returned to them by the Spanish club at 2232 BST without the signatory page. 8 minutes later, United received major changes to the documentation that would put the deal in jeopardy. At this point the transfer deadline was only roughly 20 minutes away.
At 2255 BST, the documents needed to cancel De Gea’s United contract were received by the Premier League club, but they did not receive any documentation on Navas at this point. Nonetheless, according to the statement, “At 2258 BST, the transfer agreement was sent back by Manchester United, uploaded onto TMS and accepted – all before the deadline.”
Why the deal did not go through
By Manchester United’s understanding the deal did not happen for 2 major reasons. First, Real did not upload De Gea's documents in time on FIFA's Transfer Monitoring System (TMS).
Second, Real failed to upload David De Gea’s documents on time to the Spanish League, a time they believe is reported at 28 minutes after the deadline. They corroborate this by their filing of the papers on time with the Football Association who they say will back up their claim to FIFA. The club said they could produce time-stamped documents to add to their case but have chosen not to.
They summed up their argument with a finishing line that reflected their efficiency in transfers and their joy at retaining De Gea. It read: “Manchester United acts appropriately and efficiently in its transfer dealings. The Club is delighted that its fan-favourite double Player of the Year, David de Gea, remains a Manchester United player.”
