- David de Gea's dream £29m move to Real Madrid is OFF amid claims Manchester United failed to submit paperwork
- David de Gea will not be making a £29m move to Real Madrid this summer
- Talks opened between Real Madrid and Manchester United on Monday
- The Spanish club had thrashed out a £29m deal with United
- Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas was due to join United in part-exchange
- But Real said United did not submit paperwork in time for Spanish deadline
- United refute claims but LFP say they filed paperwork in wrong format
- De Gea was set for Bernabeu presentation and is said to be devastated
- He had agreed six-year contract with Real - who were relaxed about move
- FIFA revealed they had not received an appeal from Madrid
David de Gea's dream move to Real Madrid has collapsed amid claims that paperwork had failed to arrive to the Spanish governing body headquarters by the midnight deadline for the transfer window in Spain.
Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea believed that he had achieved his dream move to Madrid after the Spanish club broke the deadlock on Monday afternoon when they thrashed out a deal worth £29million.
Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas was also set to head to Old Trafford in part exchange.
De Gea (centre) hasn't played for Manchester United yet this season due to an uncertain future
De Gea has not been selected by Louis van Gaal due to doubts about his focus amid interest from Real
'Ridiculous': Marca's back page on Tuesday after a bizarre final night of the summer transfer window in Spain
United and Madrid entered advanced talks about signing the goalkeeper De Gea on Monday until the hitch
However, in a dramatic twist, De Gea was left shell-shocked as the transfer descended into farce as this summer’s most protracted transfer saga came to a shambolic conclusion:
- Sources close to Real Madrid accused United of failing to send the relevant documents to the LFP, the Spanish governing body, by the midnight deadline.
- United angrily refuted those claims, arguing that they had proof that their paperwork was sent on time and that they had logged the documents with a FIFA timestamp.
- However, staff at the Spanish LFP said that United filed the paperwork in a format that could not be opened.
- Both clubs wanted the move to go through and had considered appealing to FIFA on Tuesday.
- FIFA revealed on Tuesday afternoon that they hadn't received an appeal from Madrid.
Sportsmail understands FIFA were waiting for the two clubs to file an appeal before launching an investigation into the transfer saga, but a representative from the organisation told Spanish radio station COPE that no request had been made before midday (CET) on Tuesday.
De Gea, meanwhile, remained none the wiser as to how this shambolic episode would play out. He is increasingly pessimistic, though. De Gea is due to meet up with the Spanish national team at 9pm on Tuesday night in Madrid and he is still planning to be in attendance.
Interestingly, sources close to his agent Jorge Mendes have suggested that Navas may have been responsible for dragging the dealings out on Monday afternoon.
De Gea's switch to Madrid would have seen Keylor Navas (right) join Manchester United in part-exchange
Navas saved a penalty as Madrid ran out 5-0 winners against Real Betis in La Liga at the weekend
De Gea was staying with his girlfriend Edurne Garcia on Monday night as he awaited confirmation of his move
De Gea's relationship with United boss Van Gaal is in tatters and the goalkeeper is said to be 'devastated'
As Sportsmail reported, he was not desperate to join United and he only agreed to make the move once it was clear that he had no future at Real Madrid. His indecisiveness is said to have eaten into precious time.
Nonetheless, it remains the case that something has gone significantly wrong with the processing of the documents by Madrid or United, with the two clubs accusing one another. The blame game is afoot.
Spanish newspaper AS claimed on Tuesday morning that Real Madrid's documents hadn't been filed until 28 minutes after the deadline.
De Gea, for his part, was said to be ‘devastated’ after he flew into Madrid to complete the transfer. The goalkeeper, who was staying with his girlfriend Edurne Garcia in the Spanish capital on Monday night, has agreed a six-year deal with Madrid and was due to be presented at the Bernabeu at lunchtime on Tuesday.
United's transfer policy was in chaos heading into transfer deadline day with Javier Hernandez and Adnan Januzaj both leaving on Monday while Louis van Gaal is gambling on Monaco teen Anthony Martial in a deal that could rise to £58m. James Wilson is also set to depart on loan on Tuesday.
De Gea was instrumental for United last season as he helped the club return to the Champions League places
De Gea's departure would not be unexpected but would still be a big blow for United
United are understood to have been anxious throughout the day that Madrid were too relaxed over the De Gea transfer after the Spanish side made only their first official offer on deadline day for La Liga.
De Gea’s powerful agent Mendes facilitated the negotiations as the two clubs brought an end to the posturing and, remarkably, held conducive talks for the very first time this summer.
The clubs finally thrashed out a deal on Monday afternoon when Madrid agreed to pay United £19m and allow Navas — valued at £10m — to head to Manchester as part of the deal. The total valuation of the deal was expressed as £29m by the two clubs.
De Gea, who joined United in 2011, was left dreading the prospect of having to return to Old Trafford until his contract expires next summer.
The Spaniard’s relationship with United manager Van Gaal and goalkeeping coach Frans Hoek is in tatters after the Dutchman Van Gaal accused De Gea of refusing to play for the club in the opening games of the Premier League season.
De Gea intially struggled with the physicality of the Premier League (left) but became a crucial United player
De Gea frequently came to United's rescue last season as Van Gaal led the team to a finish of fourth
De Gea was left privately seething and he was also ordered to train with the reserves for much of the past three weeks and he was told that he would not be welcome to join the United squad at away games.
Many inside Carrington were bemused by the treatment of De Gea, who has always been regarded as an outstanding professional.
De Gea refused to rise to Van Gaal’s bait. He continued to do as the club requested, training daily and sitting in the stands at home games as Mendes assured him the deal would come to fruition.
De Gea’s patience seemed to have finally been rewarded only for his dream to turn into a nightmare as the clock struck midnight.
Sergio Romero was not impressive as United were beaten 2-1 by Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday
@Telegraph
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