The protracted deal between English Premier League giants Manchester United and their Spanish counterparts Real Madrid for Spain goalkeeper David de Gea has reportedly fallen apart due to an administrative calamity.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told Sky Sports News HQ on Monday night (Tuesday morning AEST) that the proposed £29 million ($62.5 million) transfer almost certainly looks to be off - at least until the Spanish transfer window re-opens on January 1, 2016.
There is no precedent for a late deal to be authorised in Spanish football. With de Gea entering the final year of his contract, he could now also potentially leave the club on a free transfer next summer.
"The news is the documentation was not done on time. David de Gea was at his girlfriend's house waiting, Keylor Navas [the Real goalkeeper who was moving to United as part of the deal] was waiting, everything was signed and sent to Manchester but the stories coming out of the Spanish media are that Manchester United sent the paperwork back at 12.01am Spanish time, so past the deadline," said Balague.
"Everything was agreed, there was a little bit of a battle of figures, but everybody was waiting in their places. The Bernabeu was full of people, but the documents signed by Real Madrid and Keylor Navas did not come back from Manchester United on time.
"The Spanish media are fuming and saying this is revenge for what happened with Sergio Ramos [Manchester United were thwarted in a bid for the Real Madrid defender earlier in August when he re-signed with the La Liga side].
This is what really happened @ManUtdVines: The MUFC fax at Real. #DeGea https://t.co/xgbbN6AHcC”— olallac (@olallac)
August 31, 2015
"There is no precedent for a deal to be done past the deadline. Fabio Coentrao was in the same situation a few years ago when he was going to potentially move to Manchester United.
"The documents did not arrive in time, Real Madrid asked for five minutes and the league said no, so there is no precedent for this to be over-ruled. I know in England if everything is agreed you can have an extension but that has never happened in Spain and is not expected to happen."
The Spanish pre-season window closed at midnight on August 31, while the English one runs for another 24 hours.
I reckon the Secretary at Old Trafford 'might' be calling in sick tomorrow. #probablyadobeacrobat #DeGea— Big Leigh Nicholson (@LeighNicholson)
August 31, 2015
No official announcement has been made by either club as yet, although the BBC are reporting that United have a receipt confirming that they did in fact submit the paperwork with a minute to spare.
De Gea has not featured for Louis van Gaal's side in the Premier League this season, with the Dutch manager freezing out last year's No.1 as the transfer saga played out in the media.
Real Madrid receiving De Gea documents pic.twitter.com/UpRs4B2Gci— Adil ✌ عادل (@Barzaboy)
August 31, 2015