De Gea deal off

MADRID. — Real Madrid have blamed Manchester United for the collapse of goalkeeper David de Gea’s move to the Spanish soccer giants, claiming the English side sent the documents needed to complete the deal after the Spanish transfer deadline had passed. Madrid seemed set to conclude the long-running transfer saga with a deal that would see the Spanish giants pay a significant transfer fee for De Gea and send Costa Rican international goalkeeper Keylor Navas to United as part of the deal.

However, Spanish league sources confirmed that the player had not been registered and Madrid admitted they had sent the required documentation to the league after the window closed at midnight local time on Monday.

“Manchester United introduced into the Transfer Matching System (TMS) the details for the transfer of David de Gea, not those for Keylor Navas, at 00:00 Spanish time, sending simultaneously to Real Madrid the signed transfer contracts. Real Madrid received the complete documentation at 00:02 and tried to access the TMS but this was already closed,” Madrid said in a lengthy statement posted on their website yesterday.

“Madrid, facing the possibility of a contentious situation in the transfer of the player, decided to send the contracts to the Spanish Professional League, even knowing the deadline had already passed.

“In conclusion, Real Madrid did everything necessary in every moment to try to finalise these two transfers.”

Despite Madrid’s prolonged interest in De Gea, they claim negotiations between the two clubs for the player did not begin until Monday morning.

Real Madrid have not indicated whether they intend to appeal to football’s governing body FIFA in an attempt to force the transfer through.

FIFA refused to comment on the specific details of the case when contacted yesterday, but confirmed that no appeal had been lodged by any of the parties involved.

“Up until now, we do not appear to have been contacted by either of the parties in this matter,” said a FIFA spokesperson.

De Gea has just one year left on his contract at Old Trafford meaning he could join Madrid for free next year if the transfer doesn’t go through now. — AFP.