There is still some David De Gea related drama going on, days after the the transfer window closed. Manchester United will of course keep De Gea because the paperwork required for the deal with Real Madrid was filed after the Spanish transfer deadline.
The two clubs had reportedly agreed upon a deal that was supposed to include Keylor Navas. However, the documents didn’t go through the proper channels in time. Since the deal collapsed, the two giants of European football have been releasing official statements absolving themselves of blame. There’s also been shots fired, by both sides.
In short, Real have blamed United for the deal collapsing. They claimed the problem was United having outdated technology that couldn’t process the transfer.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said United conveyed a “lack of experience.”
“I don’t want to blame anyone but we don’t really understand whether they needed eight hours to review the contracts or if it was just that they wanted to wait until the last minute to negotiate. When they said they would negotiate, I knew that we wouldn’t get it done because I knew about Manchester United’s lack of experience.”
A Manchester united spokesperson fired back by accusing Real Madrid of “clumsiness.”
“The facts speak for themselves. The FA are prepared to back our case that documents were in on time; Real seem intent to move the focus away from their own clumsiness this summer.”
In response to Los Blancos claiming United had “outdated technology,” the Red Devils responded by announcing both an upgrade to their IT system, and a new IT partner.
We’re proud to welcome @HCLtech as our first ever Official Digital Transformation Partner. #UnitedByHCL #mufc pic.twitter.com/1haDkazqsn
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 2, 2015
The club said in an official statement:
‘HCL and Manchester United will work together to explore and unveil a number of digital initiatives to transform the experience of the club’s 659 million global followers.’
‘Manchester United will explore revolutionary ways in which the club uses technology to create a unified fan experience for supporters; and in the process set a new engagement benchmark in the world of sport.’
United’s Group Managing Director added: ‘We hope to demonstrate best practices within the industry to generate new ideas that leverage the latest technology available in the evolving digital landscape.’
One gets the feeling that this war of words between the two sides won’t be ending any time soon. Expect more contentious back and forth this week.
De Gea has not played for United since the team’s final preseason game July 29th at Soldier Field in Chicago. In the 2-0 loss to Paris Saint Germain in the International Champions Cup he gave a very poor performance and looked distracted. Manager Louis van Gaal has not featured De Gea since. Sergio Romero had three clean sheets in his first three games, but played very poorly this past weekend.
Given all the soap opera level drama that has surrounded the De Gea transfer saga all summer long, it’s fitting that the story ended in the chaotic manner in which it did.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 the Zone.
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