Real Madrid’s history of transfer madness

Real Madrid’s handling of the David De Gea transfer debacle would be shocking if it wasn’t for the fact that the team have employed a reckless strategy in the market for many years.

We’re now close to two weeks past since two of the biggest soccer clubs in the world, Real Madrid and Manchester United, tried to complete what should in many ways have been the simplest of transfers, yet you could be forgiven for still thinking back to the shambolic events that unfolded.

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After a long-rumored pursuit that had captivated the tabloids of Europe for months, Real Madrid finally made their interest known in Spanish international and Manchester United’s first choice goalkeeper David De Gea as the clock ticked down on the final day of the transfer window for Central Europe.

For all parties involved, it seemed like a deal couldn’t have been much simpler. With his future in doubt, De Gea had yet to play a single second of competitive football for United since the new season began. With his contract set to expire next summer, the Manchester club were confronted with a simple decision. Sell their star keeper now, or watch him walk away for free less than twelve months from now.

De Gea’s own preferences weren’t really any secret either. In spite of winning Manchester United’s player of the year award for two straight seasons, De Gea’s heart was being pulled towards Madrid, both the city of his birth and the home to his girlfriend of five years.

So it came as a surprise to absolutely nobody when a couple of hours before the deadline slammed shut, word emerged that all parties had agreed to a deal. The transfer would be completed with De Gea heading to the Santiago Bernabeu, and United receiving a package valued at £29 million ($44.7 million) in total, including Madrid’s current shot-stopper Keylor Navas being sent in exchange.

It wasn’t long before news of the unthinkable started to break, though. The papers confirming the deal were filed to the Spanish Football Association one minute after the 23:59:59 deadline, and therefore the agreement between the teams was null and void.

In the immediate aftermath of the transfer’s breakdown, the outcome couldn’t be viewed as anything other than a farce. These were two of the biggest organizations in world sports, and due to administrative errors they had allowed a blockbuster deal for both parties fall through before their eyes.

Most interestingly, it also felt like neither team had come out as the winner of the debacle. There were only losers in this deal.

Manchester United had to face up to the prospect of a season with one of the best goalkeepers in the world disgruntled, and maybe even sitting on the sidelines. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was a valued asset who now represented a genuine threat of leaving as a free agent without yielding any return for the club.

With the team’s fans knowing that he wanted to leave too, and also that although his situation would be untenable that he’d represent a better option than any other goalkeeper in their squad; there was no cause for celebration in Manchester.

For Madrid, not only had they failed to secure the type of megastar, or ‘Galactico’ signing that not only were the fans used to, but also had a habit for keeping club president’s in their job, but they also did greater damage closer to the team.

Costa Rican international Keylor Navas had become a fan favorite, but now he knows that he isn’t the club’s first choice and more than that, that he was viewed as expendable by the club’s hierarchy.

It didn’t take long for the blame game to begin either. Real Madrid released a ten point statement firmly trying to lay the blame at Manchester United’s door, before the English club countered with a statement of their own.

The difference between the two is that United’s statement contained near forensic detail of the timing, and hinted at what may have been the real reason the deal fell apart.

"The fact that Manchester United filed the papers on time was acknowledged by the Football Association, who offered to support that claim in any discussions with FIFA. The club offered this assistance, as well as its own timestamped documents to Real Madrid but they have chosen not to go down this route."

Did Real Madrid simply just change their minds? Did they decide they didn’t want De Gea, or at least didn’t want him now, and think that idea of further turning him against his current club would lead him into their arms on a free transfer next summer?

As one of the richest and most powerful clubs in the world, Madrid have a history of getting what they want in their transfer dealings, even if that means bullying smaller clubs into submission. In Manchester United they found a partner who was more than willing to stand toe-to-toe with them though.

Given the nature of Madrid, it’s not the first time those two clubs have found themselves in such a situation even. Back in 2013, United made a last gasp bid to bring Portuguese left back Fabio Coentrao to Old Trafford on loan, but ironically enough the deal once again fell through due to the late submission of paperwork.

Real Madrid’s own approach to picking up players, particularly those coming from the English Premier League has often proven to be more about money than sense.

In one of the most bizarre signings of recent years, Real signed West Ham wing back Julien Faubert in 2009. Faubert had been distinctly mediocre in his time with the East London club, even struggling to start at times, yet all of a sudden the biggest club in the world wanted him as theirs. That deal turned out just as you would imagine.

Going back further to 2004, the Spanish heavyweights chose to sign talented young central defender Jonathan Woodgate from Newcastle for £13 million ($20 million), but there was just one pretty significant problem; Woodgate was injured and had been for quite a while.

It would be a year before he’d make his debut in which he picked up a red card and scored an own goal. As injuries persisted, it wasn’t long before he was back in England.

Most concerningly for Madrid, Gareth Bale could become the next and the most expensive player to join this list though. Bale moved to the Bernabeu in 2013 for a fee believed to be close to a world record of £80 million ($123 million), and has played generally well in the time since.

Living up to that fee was always going to be impossible, though, and when things go wrong for Madrid it’s often resulted in the fans turning on and jeering Bale.

This is the problem with how the club conducts business too. Did they really stop to consider if Gareth Bale was worthy of such a fee? If they had they would have realized that it represented the chance of being a noose around his neck more than anything else.

Did they stop to think that David De Gea may no longer want to become a Madrid player? With a new four-year contract under his belt at Old Trafford, any deal for De Gea is now infinitely more difficult for Madrid than it was a couple of weeks ago.

I feel proud to announce that I'll continue with you and @manutd. Thanks for your unconditional support! pic.twitter.com/I6J7XGHKe2
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) September 11, 2015

We’ll be able to tell from the next few days, weeks and months how De Gea’s future with United will pan out, but one thing is for sure, this transfer saga is just the most recent in a long line of farcical situations for Real Madrid.