Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/565097
maltatoday, Wednesday, 2 september 2015 20 Sport SPORTTODAY football Real blame United over David De Gea debacle Real Madrid have blamed Man- chester United for their failure to sign Spain goalkeeper David De Gea before Monday's midnight transfer deadline and said they did everything needed to complete the transaction. De Gea faces an uncertain future after the deal to join Real, which included Costa Rica keeper Keylor Navas moving to the english club, was scuppered when the paperwork did not arrive at the Spanish league in time and the data was not en- tered into FIFa's Transfer Match- ing System (TMS) as required. Real said in a statement on their website (www.realmadrid.com) on Tuesday the bureaucratic snafu, which prompted widespread ridi- cule on social media, was not their fault and detailed exhaustively how and why the necessary documents were not ready until it was too late. United had not initiated talks on a possible De Gea transfer until Monday morning, the statement said. after initial agreement was reached, Real said they sent the contracts to United at 1:39 p.m. Spanish time (1139 GMT). eight hours later they were sent back with "small modifications", which Real said they immediately accepted. Real then sent the contracts signed by De Gea and Navas back to United for their signature at 2132 GMT, 28 minutes before the deadline. United entered the details of De Gea's transfer into TMS at exactly midnight Spanish time but did not register the Navas deal and by then it was too late for Real to access the system. TMS gave them a last chance to register the deal around half an hour later and Real also sent the documents to the Spanish league even though they knew the dead- line had passed. "Real Madrid did everything nec- essary, and at all times, to complete these two transfers," Real's state- ment concluded. TRANSFER SAGA The Spanish league did not im- mediately respond to a request for comment. a spokesman for Unit- ed said they had no immediate re- sponse to Real's statement. FIFa rules state that players can be registered only during one of two annual transfer periods -- the other is in January -- with the ex- ception being if their contract has expired before the end of a regis- tration period. For a player to transfer to anoth- er country, their new club and his previous club have to submit cer- tain information and documenta- tion to the TMS. The system then generates an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) which allows the player's registration to be switched from one country to another. asked on Tuesday about the failed transfer, a FIFa spokesper- son said: "Up until now, we do not appear to have been contacted by either of the parties in this matter. "Please understand that as a re- sult we cannot comment on a hy- pothetical scenario." as things stand, De Gea, whose deal with United expires at the end of the season when he can leave for free, could find himself out in the cold, at least until the end of the year when the market opens again. as the transfer saga rumbled on, United coach louis van Gaal left the 24-year-old former atletico Madrid keeper out of the squad for the Premier league club's opening games of the season, with argen- tina international Sergio Romero playing instead. Real want De Gea as a long-term replacement for his Spain team mate Iker Casillas, the former club captain who joined Porto in July. De Gea was selected last week for Spain's forthcoming euro 2016 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia although coach Vi- cente del Bosque hinted that he could lose his place in the squad if his club situation remained unre- solved. Manchester United's David De Gea Javier Hernandez explains his departure from Manchester United JaVIeR Hernandez has revealed he left Manchester United for Bayer leverkusen because he wanted to be happy again. The Mexico striker, who spent last season on loan at Real Ma- drid, has signed a three-year contract after the clubs agreed a fee believed to be around £7.3 million. Hernandez was on the bench for United's 2-1 Barclays Premier league defeat at Swansea on Sun- day but last started for the team more than a year ago. The Bundesliga high flyers un- veiled Hernandez at a press con- ference on Tuesday and he said: "I want to go back to feeling im- portant and happy. I want to find happiness. "Bayer made me feel important and loved and coming here was not a difficult decision to make. They made me feel wanted." Javier Hernandez wanted to feel important again