Spanish custodian David de Gea could have been a Real Madrid player by now, had the proposed £29m deal gone through just before the closing of the summer transfer window in Spain.
According to reports, the necessary paperwork from Manchester United did not reach the office of the LFP (National Professional Football League), or the Spanish Football Federation Headquarters, before the deadline, and the deal collapsed in the dying minutes.
It is also believed that current Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas was also moving to the other direction as a part of the deal.
While there has not been any official statement from any of the clubs yet, the BBC have reported that the Red Devils have stated that they had submitted all the documents on time, for the deal to go through, and they also have a stamp from FIFA on the documents.
Only FIFA has the power of sanctioning international transfers and it is yet to be seen whether Real put up any appeal as such to the world football governing body for their failure in landing the player and sort out the paperwork issue.
According to the Press Association (PA) also, sources from United have mentioned that the documents were uploaded to the FIFA TMS (Transfer Matching System) website for the deal to go through. It is believed that even De Gea was keen on completing his move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
PA Reporter Paul Hirst tweeted -
The Red Devils were reportedly willing to sell De Gea to Real Madrid only after securing a record fee for a goalkeeper. The most-expensive transfer fee paid for a goalkeeper remains £32.6m – Juventus paid to Parma to secure Gianluigi Buffon in 2001.
However, with just a few days remaining for the summer transfer window to shut, United eased off their stance just days back, and reportedly settled for £29m with Real for De Gea.
The Spain international signed for United in 2011 for a fee of £18m and his current contract at Old Trafford expires next summer. Louis van Gaal can remain content now after the speculation hovering over the player ended last night.
De Gea has not appeared in any of United's Premier League games this season, and it remains to be seen if the Dutch manager does field the player in the upcoming games, now that the Spaniard is confirmed to be a part of United until at least the January transfer window next year.
