The transfer of David de Gea, seen in Las Rozas, Spain, on September 2, 2015, broke down because of Manchester United management's "lack of experience", says the Real Madrid president. PHOTO: AFP
And although Real have been chasing the goalkeeper for more than a year as a long-term replacement for Iker Casillas, Perez refused to confirm whether Los Blancos would move for de Gea in January.
Madrid seemed set to conclude the long-running transfer saga late on Monday’s deadline day with a deal worth between €30 million and €40 million, and Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas going the other way.
But Spanish league sources confirmed the player had not been registered and Madrid admitted they had sent the required documentation after the window closed at midnight local time (2200 GMT).
Madrid had accused United of sending the documents after the Spanish deadline had passed, but the English club laid the blame at Madrid’s door and said they were “delighted” by the outcome.
The Madrid club have come in for ridicule in the Spanish press, but Perez denied it was their fault. “I don’t want to pin the blame on anyone, but we cannot understand how it could take eight hours [to return the papers],” he said. “I don’t believe it was done with any bad intention, they just lack experience.”
However, Perez refused to be drawn on whether the club would go back for him in January. “I really have no idea what will happen now,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2015.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ