Real Madrid missed out on signing De Gea from Manchester United (for whatever amount, as it is irrelevant now) by 26 minutes.
Or by 8 minutes? I don’t know as the statement put out by Real Madrid makes matters even more confusing rather than resolving them.
And what is with Manchester United and Real Madrid anyway? They had all summer to figure this transfer out and yet they waited for the last 12 hours to finish up on paperwork?
And now, after being made to look like kindergarten squabbling kids, Real Madrid and Manchester United play the blame game.
To Manchester United, this debacle means little. Manchester United wasn’t going to be in contention for winning Champions League or the league title this year anyway so by not signing a player they wanted doesn’t do them much harm.
I think they will will be pretty solid with the likes of Sergio Roberto who Louis Van Gaal has played in each of the opening six fixtures this season for Manchester United.
But for Real Madrid, without Casillas or Diego Lopez (decent keeper though was really poor against chipped shots) this does mean serious trouble. Real Madrid has shot itself in the foot and here are the reasons why:
- Real Madrid now have a player they don’t want. Keylor Navas is not wanted by Real Madrid. Worse than that, now everyone knows that Real Madrid wanted to get rid of a player but they could not finish the job in time.
This means Real Madrid are now stuck with a mediocre goalkeeper. And how does this affect Rafa Benitez?
I know in the interviews he has been pretty straightforward about how, in his mind, Keylor Navas will remain the number one goalkeeper for Real Madrid this season but how does this De Gea saga affect him?
What message does it give out to the fans that Real Madrid now have a player who is not wanted by the coaching staff.
The Marca poll showed that most of the Real Madrid fans wanted De Gea to come to Real Madrid next summer for free rather than come to Real Madrid this summer for 40 million pounds but still, it raises a question about squad unity and how other players would perceive Rafa Benitez’s plans since obviously he gave a green light to De Gea transfer
. Otherwise, he could have said a solid no to the management and that would have been the end of it. - Real Madrid don’t have a player they wanted. How would it affect the plans that were in place as far as trophies are concerned for this season?
Were those plans contingent on De Gea’s arrival? What would happen to those plans now? Would Real Madrid sign another keeper in January?
The more uncertainty there is at the club, the worse it would be for it on the pitch as well. I just don’t know, how Rafa Benitez would deal with all of this.
How does this affect his strategic vision for the whole season.
If he had envisioned De Gea as a central player to his plans for Real Madrid this season then how would he be able to adjust those plans without De Gea if at all because Keylor isn’t certainly going to cut it when he is facing Messi, Suarez, Neymar and possibly Hazard or Ibrahimovic in Champions League. - Keylor Navas will not be able to handle Champions League pressure. He is a Costa Rican goalkeeper. Which means he has never had to bear much pressure when it comes to big tournaments.
Costa Rica, for all its heroics in CONCACAF and World Cup 2014 is not an elite team and is never expected to be amongst the top four of any tournament.
Keylor Navas just does not have that quality. He is too weak, too mediocre and too dumb to be honest. He would get outfoxed easily by strikers hired by clubs such as Barcelona, Chelsea, PSG and Juventus even. - What if Keylor Navas gets injured? Real Madrid would be left with Kiko Casilla. An even worse alternative.
What was Real Madrid management thinking?
Here we have a team which has probably the greatest front three in the history of club football but has a goalkeeper whose average play level is that of someone playing in a Sunday League match or something.
Keylor Navas just won’t cut it for Real Madrid. And how would Benitez go about rotating the goalkeepers?
He certainly can’t rotate like Ancelotti did when he played Casillas in most matches and Keylor Navas in matches that were of little importance.
Now, Real Madrid find themselves in a situation that it has to play that goalkeeper of ‘less important matches’ in , possibly, all the matches.
What if Keylor Navas gets a red card? Real Madrid would definitely get nailed in the next match where most likely Kiko would stand between the goal posts.
If somehow, Kiko get injured which certainly can happen because he would have been training his body for being the 2nd goalkeeper at Real Madrid( and also because we know that the human body contracts and expands in less than ideal ways when under immense pressure. Pressure which comes from playing in the Champions League or La Liga for Real Madrid.It is even worse when a day ago you knew that ,at best ,you would be a substitute goalkeeper when the first goalkeeper is away on holidays)Real Madrid would have to play someone from Real Madrid B team wihch would be a certain disaster. - Even if we forget everything in the preceding paragraphs, how does this debacle affect Keylor Navas?
Would he not be absolutely demoralised and devastated after finding (I guess he partially knew before hand.)out that Real Madrid wanted to get rid of him and actually, the club tried its utmost to get rid of him till the dying minutes of the transfer window but could not do so because of the callousness shown by Manchester United?
How would he pick himself up everyday for training sessions when he knows that he is not wanted by the club. What about his loyalty to the club?
Would Keylor Navas think about giving away goals in important matches to teach Real Madrid a lesson? Or will he use this opportunity like Beckham did under Capello at Real Madrid or like C.Ronaldo did at Manchester United under Ferguson.
Both of these players were practically axed by their respective managers but they came back with full force and won the confidence of not only the manager but also the team and actually helped the team win silverware.
I, for one, would not blame Keylor Navas if he indeed was thinking along these lines right now in his head. Big questions need to be answered now
Conclusion
Manchester United has always played hardball with Spanish teams when it comes to player transfers because, let’s face it, Manchester United is a big fish in a small pond of English Premier League but a small fish in the ocean when it deals in Europe.
English teams have generally been uncooperative with Spanish teams (like Real Madrid and Barcelona). Every season for the past 10 or 20 seasons we have seen transfer sagas like the one of De Gea.
It happened with C.Ronaldo, Beckham, Thierry Henry, Fabregas and now De Gea. Gareth Bale’s was relatively straightforward because Tottenham didn’t have any choice and need some cash to support its finances.
Real Madrid might be able to coop without De Gea this season but it will be difficult especially in big matches against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Champions League.
For De Gea, I do feel sorry. He was stuck in a bad situation between two rival clubs. I don’t know what would become of him now.
Van Gaal doesn’t trust him. De Gea knows Luis does trust him and he also knows (like Keylor Navas) that his club tried to get rid of him till the last minute and had it not been for some damn paperwork, he would be at the club.
Will De Gea remain the same player till next season? Would this saga affect his reflexes, his speed or his fitness levels? I would love to hear from you guys.
One thing is for certain. Iker Casillas of Porto would, absolutely, be rolling on the floor laughing.
Hala Madrid!!!
Your stupid Madrid just got a taste of its own medicine. Manchester United has won the Champions League three times and reached the finals four times in the last 12 years. So, yeah, I would think it is a big fish in the ocean. We can buy any player in the world.
How did Real Madrid get a taste of its own medicine?
When has Real Madrid ever done this? If Real Madrid wants to sell a player, it sells the player. Doesn’t drag.
Calling United a small fish in a big European pond shows you have no idea what you are talking about. How about United revenue only being behind Real and Barca last year, by a small margin, without CL football! Not to mention the new Adidas deal. If there is one club who is not small, it’s United! Look at the game in the U.S. between United and Real last pre-season. United fans outnumbered Real 3-1.
You said United have behaved badly. United didn’t want to sell. It was up to Real to make the move and do the deal. Which was all done last minute when they realized United were not going to blink and we’re happy for De Gea leave on a free next summer.
Just face it. De Gea is a United player, who may even sign a new deal now! Real tried to outfox United and got burned.
Yes you make a valid point there. But I was referring to Manchester United’s exploits in football, not in commerical avenues. I think most would agree that Manchester United is no longer (and has been for a long time now, at least five seasons) a Champions League contender.
As far as EPL (BPL) goes, it is amongst those clubs who have a chance of finishing in the top four. Not actually win the league.
Weren’t Manchester United in the final in 2011..? Just 4 yrs ago, reached the QF in 2014?.
Not sure what a long time means…. Madrid have only appeared in the final once in 13 years unlike Uniteds 3 appearances in 10..! Also reaching the QF 2014..
United are a massive draw, Manchester may not have the sunshine, but it has the best supported side in the world, like Madrid, a fantastic history going back over half a century and more….
The EPL is a stronger league than Spain, where only 1 of 2 teams have a chance of winning the league, English sides have to deal with a strong challenge in the EPL then face strong side in Europe, a tougher task than Spanish league.
However great Ronaldo and Messi are, they would not continually score over 40 goals in the EPL… because it is tougher. Spanish league is technically better, but to play 38 games at the top of your game is a challange in itself!
Appreciate your views but this is football. 2nd place, is the first loser. Winning counts, no one remembers the runner up.
The debate of La Liga vs EPL has been going on for a long time now. Again, you cannot compare the two.
Yes, what you can compare is what happens when east meets west on the field. Its a slaughterhouse every time.
EPL is much more entertaining while La Liga is very technical. Players in EPL have some moral values, people in La Liga have close to none, everyone goes down holding their face at every opportunity. But that doesn’t make EPL more competitive than La Liga.
Unless, Spain meets England in UEFA Champions League (i.e their club teams) and England wins, your points have little weight.I haven’t checked but it’s been all Spain for the past five years, at the very least.
Sorry… you said United hadn’t been CONTENDERS for a long time, I just pointed to the fact that you are wrong… Compared to Madrid in the last 10 yrs, we have been bigger contenders.
But, just to correct you, it is the sides that don’t qualify out of the group stages that are the 1st losers…. runners up are the last!. But we have been contenders 3 times in the final in the last 10 years winning in 2008.
When you say it’s a massacre everytime, you will find that’s down to Barcelona only, being such a fantastic side, not only against English teams but all European sides..
Would be interesting to see if they could handle the physicality of the EPL and then still perform in Europe..
Also good to see Uniteds statement to clear up the wrong allegations of Madrid, it’s was not upto United to hunt down the team to buy DDG, but RM to submit a bid before the deadline…
Okay. It may be Real Madrid’s fault to some extent. Manchester United were well within their rights to not budge from their asking price.
We can quote thousands of statistics on which league is better or whether Manchester United are contenders are not.
When you don’t qualify for Champions League, you are no longer contenders. When you get knocked out in the group stages of the Champions League, you lose your status as an elite club.
That is something that has never happened to Real Madrid or Barcelona and will probably never happen.
On that loser point. If you make a list of who is the best loser of them all? Who would that be? I hope you understand my point. 2nd place might be good in a university degree but not in professional sports, not when you are talking about the greatest clubs in football.
For Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich. 2nd place means nothing. Either you win or you don’t. For Manchester United, ‘not win’ has been the case for a long time now, especially in Europe. When was the last time Manchester United beat an elite European team? I can’t remember either.
When all is said and done, its Real Madrid with 10, Barcelona with, I think, six and Manchester United with 2. Lets hope they make it 3 this year (which in my opinion will not happen) but until then, Manchester United has to take the back seat.
Boris, not sure if you remember your own comments.
1 season we didn’t qualify due to the massive upheaval in management, Utd are not used to changing their managers every other season like some Spanish sides.
You said for the last 5 or so yrs we have not been contenders…. I’m pretty sure you have been proved wrong on that, the facts don’t back up your claim.
1 season not qualifying does not make 5… 1 season out of CL doesn’t stop a side being elite!…
Yes you are correct, it couldn’t happen to Madrid or Barcelona, because those 2 side dominate Spanish league, and is less competitive than the EPL. … A bit like the Scottish league, where you knew Celtic or Rangers were always top 2.. However if they played in the EPL, they would also have to adapt or face the consequences.
I’m also not comparing the 2 leagues, my comment was to your dismissive nature of the EPL…. again as I said earlier, Spanish league is more technically better than the EPL.
Maybe if the rest of the Spanish league side’s had a fairer share in the funds, you would see a more competitive and exciting league.
Utd have actually won it 3 times not twice, let’s also remember 6 of your 10 European cups were won in the 1st 6 yrs of the conception of the tournament, when it was not as difficult to win as the present time, again, Munich ’58 halted Utds progress, otherwise you possibly may not have had 10 yet.!
United may not be ready this season as we go through transition, but are Madrid really better prepared than Barcelona or Munich?..
The De Gea situation is totally down to Madrid, if Madrid hadn’t spent there time tapping up a player (again), and not waited until the last few hours to make a bid, De Gea would be back in his home town, and everyone moving on….
United are happy to keep one of the World’s best keepers, who will regain his focus in a European championship season, while Madrid are left with a keeper, who is left feeling as a spare part!, we will see how competitive RM will be with a keeper who may have lost his focus..
I think your comment proves my point. Getting knocked out of the group stage is mind blowing. It is unacceptable to anyone, for Manchester United to still feel as an elite club of the world(they are elite in England) when they can’t qualify and when they do get knocked out.
This is the difference between Real, Barcelona and the clubs in England. We win stuff. We sign stuff. We demolish english teams. English teams make excuses. Plain crash, management change, players sold. Whatever dude.
Lets get past the ‘CONTENDER’ phase already. Win.
As far as La liga being competitive goes. It’s like this. Teams in england are equally bad. The top three in La Liga are the top three of the world. Spain wins Champions League and Spain wins Europa league. English teams can only be given credit for good spirits. You guys keep on getting pummeled but never quit.
I never get this EPL being more competitive. It is such an amateurish argument. Last season, the difference of poing (DOP) between top 2 in La Liga was two points. In EPL was 8 points. La liga more competitive.
Last season DOP betwen top 4 in la Liga and EPL was the same i.e 17 points. So i don’t know what you are talking about.
Last season DOP between 1 and 20 in La Liga was 74 points while in EPL was 57 points. But that because Cordoba at 20 in La Liga was exceptionally bad. If we take out cordoba and take in team number 19, then DOP in la Liga comes down to 62 points. Given that it is Barcelona at the top, I think 7 point difference between 1 and 20 in EPL and La Liga is not much of a difference. Certainly not enough to say that EPL is more competitive just because of those 7 points on DOP between team at 1 and team at 19.
Lol at your comments!
Where have you been for 25 years!… United won stuff, the most successful side in England…
But your clearly ‘nit picking’ to attempt to prove a point which you could not back!.. We always qualify for the CL in the last half a century it has been the once we didn’t (last season), and regularly compete and qualify for the later stages…. as we have reached the final 2 times more than RM in the last decade, you should know that.!
We are regular contenders for CL, and have been for quite a few yrs, sure… we going through a transition period now, but who’s to say how far any side will go, who they will be drawn against etc….
To keep saying ‘it will never happen to RM’ is just pure arrogance, as you don’t know what tomorrow will bring..
When was the last time (& how often), would Barcelona or RM play a team from the lower ends of your Spanish league and face a real fight to win it??? Did you watch Chelsea at the weekend?..
The TV viewing figures around the world, and the popularity of English sides tell you it’s the most watched league in the world, it is the most exciting and entertaining.. the fight to broadcast EPL has led to the huge sponsorship money coming into play next season… thanks to the demand for EPL around the world.
You can put whatever stats you want, but we all know Barcelona or RM will win the league this season (most likely Barcelona as they still are well ahead of RM!), and it will be the same next season and so on…… That’s why you know ‘It will never happen to RM’ to not qualify for the CL.
In Europe, technically better sides tend to win the cup, hence Barcelonas success and domination of the Spanish league and CL..
We have had Liverpool win the CL and finish out of the Top 4, we have had Chelsea finish out of the top 4 and Win the CL……! Yes… it couldn’t happen to RM because you know, they will hardly ever finish out of the top 2 as it’s not as competitive as the EPL !..(maybe technically better, but not as competitive or exciting!).
Good night…
Yeah sure. but again. All of the points you have mentioned point to one thing. Manchester United is great when it comes to England.
You just cannot ignore the fact that in over a hundred years, Manchester United have won the Champions League just thrice.
Real Madrid has won more than THREE times as much Champions League as Manchester United has. Barcelona wins it after every two years since Messi has been on the scene.
Atletico Madrid beat the bejesus out of Chelsea 2 seasons ago. Not many goals but general gameplay.
Barcelona might win the league and Champions League this season and I wouldn’t hate them for that.For when it comes to EPL vs La Liga, I am more inclined towards Barcelona rather than wishing an English (or German or French) team would knock them out.
And how did Chelsea win CL? Barcelona used Chelsea as a punching bag for 180 minutes but out came Chelsea as the winner. Sometimes better teams don’t win. That is sometimes. Not like Manchester United who have finished out of top 4 multiple times in their history.
Manchester United is a great english club but a tier below the like of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and even AC Milan.
Err! Just once out of top 4 in over 30 yrs to be precise.
Again your own comments prove how much less competitive la liga is, if your telling me RM has hardly been out of top 4!.. How can you on one hand quote me stats to try and prove how competitive La Liga is, then on the other hand insist RM could never be out of the top 4! Maybe if the TV rights finance was better shared, you would see that change…
Lol at your Chelsea comments…! A bit like saying how referees are biased towards Spanish sides, Chelsea vs Barca springs to mind!
Using your logic, how can you place RM in tier 1? You’ve not been as successful as United in the CL in the last 10 yrs! You’ve only won your national league 3 times in 10 years compared to Uniteds 5, if 1st is everything and second is nothing then it doesn’t matter what round you get knocked out of or what position you finish in the league!.
Your logic and arguments do not make sense!.
You have a large support base around the world, but still not as large as Utds, and most of your claim to be a tier 1 club is based on the 6 European cups won over half a century ago!
(For the record, I am not saying that Madrid are a tier 2 club, they are a huge huge club just like Manchester United…. But your opinion is clearly biased just as your website states.. lol….. I’m just going by your logic and calculations, that because Man Utd had 1 terrible season in 2013-14, and failed to qualify for CL, it doesn’t define the whole history of a club the colossal success it has had over time, because on your basis (and my biased view), United are the bigger club, as we have had more success at home and been more competitive in Europe over the last decade and longer.)
Where do you pick up your random numbers like 30 years or 10 years. Seriously. It is a club. Logic says that we should judge any club from the moment it was born to the moment it dies. You know your arguments would fall apart if you just take your own imposed decade limits and throw them away.
Manchester United have finished outside top four 46 times in its history compared to Real Madrid’s 14. Spanish teams have had more success in European football than English teams.
Your opinions are very subjective. When all is said and done, Real Madrid have won 10, Manchester United have won 3.
When all of English teams excuses are finished, its Manchester United with 2 wins in 10 matches with Real Madrid.
And not once have i gone into the financial sides of clubs. That’s not what this is about. We are talking about sporting achievements. Leave Ronaldo’s hair commercials aside.
My point is this. la Liga is more competitive but Real Madrid and Barcelona are so ahead of the pack that they punish people in La Liga and they punish people in England when it comes to Champions League.
Please. At least wait for an English side to blow a Spanish side away and then talk. Right now, you have empty claims.
I am quoting you statistics so the point of me being biased is irrelevant here. I do like Real Madrid over all clubs but that does not distract me from what is true.
Real Madrid 10-3 Manchester United (Champions League Count, as that is the only way to tell who is superior. Lets leave the league debate aside. For you EPL is better and that is okay. For me La Liga is better and that should be okay with you.)
You clearly don’t know about the meaning of the word ‘Competitive’ !
Your status of 14 times out of 46 for utd out of the top 2 or 4 position again just points to the competitive nature of English football over spanish football. In fact, without you realising, you are proving the lack of competitive nature of Spanish football amongst yourselves in Spain by your facts.
As a Manchester United fan, I am proud that we have a competitive league, and over the last century teams have created a history for themselves with their own success stories, from Huddersfield Town to Blackburn, to the great Wolves team of the 1950’s to Nottingham Forests league and European successes of the late 1970’s !… Even our league has a history, rather than being dominated by 1 or 2 teams.
It like saying “Glasgow Rangers have won more league titles in world football (54) than anyone else, so Scottish football must be brilliant! ”
I am not and have not compared the EPL and La Liga like you have, one league is technically better (spain), and the other is more exciting and more competitive (EPL), just because the EPL has been proven to be more competitive, does not mean to say one league is better than the other, but shows the more entertainment value of that league.
You can keep pushing whatever stats that suit you…. when all is said and done… you have your own successes United have theirs….
I would appreciate if you would stop making subjective statements and back your claim with statistics. Statistics are the ultimate reality of this world . None can deny statistics, not even Manchester United fans. Here are last 10 year performances by Real Madrid and Manchester United. I ve listed the rounds both got knocked out since you said Manchester United have outperformed Real Madrid in the last ten years.
04-05-Real Madrid round of 16–Manchester United round of 16 (Score 0-0, since both got knocked out at the same stage)
05-06-Real Madrid R16–Man Utd Knocked out, last place group stage (1-0 to Real Madrid)
06-07-Real Madrid R16–Man Utd Semi Final (beat Roma and got blasted by Milan in SF. Real Madrid lost to Bayern in R16 on away goals)(1-1)
07-08-Real Madrid R16–Man Utd Winners(beat chelsea on penalties. Could not even win on goals scored but anyway)(1-2)
08-09-Real Madrid R16–Man Utd Final (1-3 to Man Utd)
09-10-Real Madrid R16–Man Utd QF (1-4 to Man Utd)
10-11-Real Madrid SF–Man Utd F(Real madrid got beaten by a supreme Barcelona while Man Utd got Schalke in Semi’s. Man utd got destroyed in the final by Barcelona)(1-5)
11-12-Real Madrid SF–Man Uted Did not qualify for knockout stage (Real Madrid lost to Bayern on penalties)(2-5)
12-13-Real Madrid SF–Man Utd R16(Got thumped by Real Madrid at Old trafford)(3-5)
13-14-Real Madrid W–Man Utd QF (Man utd lost to Bayern Munich 4-2, real madrid beat bayern munich 5-0)(4-5)
14-15-Real Madrid SF–Man Utd Did not even qualify for the tournament (5-5)
So Real Madrid outperformed Manchester United 5 times and Manchester United outperformed Real Madrid five times. So where is your argument of Manchester United having done better than real Madrid in the past 10 years? Sure Manchester United made two finals through lucky draws but also got humiliated by Real Madrid, Barcelona, got knocked out of group stages twice which has never happened to real Madrid and then the ultimate humiliation when Manchester did not even qualify for the champions league.
Thanks.
Yaawwn! .
Somebody once said 1st is everything and 2nd is the 1st losers! .
In the last decade 5 league titles to RMs 3.
3 CL finals winning in 2008, compared to RMs solitary one appearance. How’s that for stats.
I think you’ve well and truly received your reply to your original post, and you clearly need to have the final word for your sanity…
Adiós
-I replied to your point about Manchester United being more consistent in the past 10 years than Real Madrid. I still believe its Real Madrid 10-3 Manchester United.
-we are not talking about league titles as that is irrelevant. La Liga is more competitive because you always have Barcelona to beat who hardly ever drop points. Real Madrid won 94 points last season and stil couldn’t win the league. When has that ever happen in EPL or any other league in the world.
-And your third point about Cl finals contradicts the first line you yourself wrote. Those 3 finals have little worth to the humiliation Manchester United got for getting knocked out of group stages and then to top that off, not even qualifying for Champions League. Some elite club Man Utd is.
Lets not even talk about the head to head stuff. You keep on avoiding the main issue. Real Madrid is better than Manchester United statistically. Fifa awarded club of the century to Real madrid not to Manchester United.
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Another way to express oneself is through words. That way we can have a more productive conversation.
Agree with most of your article apart from the second last paragraph. Manchester United were reluctant sellers, he knows United want to keep him, and not sell. He was offered a contract and if he wishes, he can still sign it.
Bridges can be rebuilt between Manager and player, the most important thing is, that he is wanted by the club and fans..
Well said. But still, does Keylor Navas has the fortitude?
I think not, but we’ll see. He does have tremendous faith in his abilties.