Welcome to another edition of This is Why They Call It the Silly Season. The summer transfer window brings an intense over-analysis of postings made by players on their social media accounts. No matter how brief, terse or cryptic. Enter David de Gea and his tweeting nothing but the “sleepy/bored” emoji earlier today.
The posting has led to his name, David de Gea, becoming among the most top trending terms on Twitter on Wednesday.
?
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) June 28, 2023
This comes amidst a contract extension talks stalemate at Old Trafford. Unless an 11th hour u-turn happens, De Gea is set to become a free agent on Saturday. He would then leave the club after 12 years of service!
His contract situation has been one of worthless tedium, and needless drama. Just like the situation surrounding the club sale, or most big deals that have occurred during the Glazer era at United for that matter, this has been pointlessly protracted.
Regardless of what you think of De Gea, and whether you believe he should stay or go, to leave him in limbo like this is unfair to his legacy. Considering all that he has done, he deserves a much better send-off.
And even if you have no opinion on his club future, you have to admit the situation being dragged out for so long, without any resolution nearing, helps no one.
That is probably what the emoji means- De Gea is telling us that there is no news on this front. He’s letting us know how sick and tired, and bored he is of his own contract negotiation saga. Or at least that’s our interpretation.
Feel free to read the tea leaves in a different way. (Leave your take on it all in the comments!).
This isn’t the first time De Gea has been at the center of a horribly pointlessly protracted transfer saga. Remember 2015? With the David de Gea: will he or won’t he leave for Real Madrid narrative? At it all ended with a last minute paperwork and fax machine snafu?
Yeah, this isn’t as bad as that.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.