Manchester United demonstrated Monday how inept the club’s leadership can be, adding to the belief that United has significantly descended down the international soccer rankings.
Considered one of the world’s best goalkeepers, David de Gea seemed set for a last-minute transfer to Spanish power Real Madrid ahead of Monday’s midnight deadline.
The deal was contingent upon Real Madrid sending promising goalie Keylor Navas and €20 million to Manchester United in exchange for de Gea.
But as the La Liga transfer deadline neared, Real Madrid had yet to receive the paperwork from Manchester United.
At first, news came out claiming United submitted the papers at 12:01 a.m. Madrid time, a minute past the deadline.
However, United struck back claiming they had documentation proving the papers were submitted to Real in time. The debacle was confirmed when La Liga officials asserted they received no transfer documents until 28 minutes past the deadline.
The deal was dead: Real Madrid didn’t appeal for an extension and de Gea is staying in Manchester, albeit as an extremely unhappy goalie.
Throughout de Gea’s gradual rise to the pinnacle of his profession, the Spaniard has quietly yet publicly expressed interest in returning to the city of his youth, Madrid, having grown up in cross-town rival Atletico Madrid’s developmental system.
Real, however, have monitored and courted de Gea for years, hoping to replace aging mainstay Iker Casillas with the rising star.
But despite the prying of Real Madrid, de Gea seemed set to remain in Manchester for a final season before Monday’s shenanigans.
According to Real, it wasn’t until Monday morning that United finally engaged in discussions with the club over transferring de Gea, despite months of banter in the press between the clubs.
United wouldn’t give up their most promising player to a wealthier club even though he repeatedly expressed his intention to leave as soon as his contract was up.
This stupid, ego-driven decision by Manchester United is why the club has yet to reach heights similar to the constant success achieved under the leadership of former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
United still believe they’re on top of the soccer world, even though the club fails to attract young talent or find success with the rotating door of proven yet aging stars.
Much of the blame can be placed at the feet of Joel and Avram Glazer, the club’s owners and co-chairmen who took over the team following the death of their father Malcolm.
Joel and Avram need to stop living in the past and develop a plan to rebuild the squad.
The Glazer’s pride hurt them: rather than professionally discuss a de Gea and Navas swap, Manchester United has released statement after statement claiming de Gea wouldn’t be sold unless a player of equally promising caliber was returned or an egregiously steep transfer fee was forked over.
Yet Madrid’s insistence that de Gea be made available coupled with the goalkeeper’s preference to leave proved otherwise. Real is one of a handful of clubs who have watched and laughed behind closed doors as United failed to sign top-flight players. Why would they expect de Gea to stay? In recent years, Real has secured multiple coveted playmakers — Gareth Bale, Angel Di Maria and Toni Kroos come to mind.
Meanwhile, United brought in the talented yet raw Memphis Depay from PSV — a solid addition but still an unproven commodity.
The addition of Depay was a step in the right direction, but United shot their rebuilding effort in the foot by failing to secure Chilean goalkeeper Keylor Navas in the proposed transfer with Real.
Navas is a rising star, having displayed poise in the net as starter in the 2014 World Cup, and would likely have become United’s starting goalkeeper for the next decade.
Of course all of this is speculation, but the principle remains the same. If United plans to rebuild, they need to act like it. Gain some humility and perspective — the club doesn’t appear to be a contender in the Premier League this season — and rebuild through youth. Otherwise, United will sink to the depths of the league in a blaze of glory similar to the recent decline of the other team owned by the Glazer family: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
Manchester United's goalkeeper David de Gea warms up before an International Champions Cup soccer match against Paris Saint-Germain in Chicago on July 29.
