The Fax Machine That Killed a Player's Dream Move to Real Madrid
When David De Gea’s Dream Move to Real Madrid Went Wrong
Real Madrid say they did everything necessary to complete the transfer, Manchester United say they filed the papers on time, and the media say problems with a fax machine may have held up the deal.
What actually prevented David De Gea making his dream move to Real in 2015 is somewhere in the middle.
At The Sporting Blog, we jump into a time machine to revisit the infamous failed transfer!
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea
A Bit of Background to ‘Dea to Real Madrid’
Manchester United battled to keep goalkeeper De Gea after Real’s interest in 2014.
United signed De Gea on a five-year deal from Atletico Madrid in 2011, paying around £18.9m at the end of June.
The 32-year-old, who was 20 years of age at the time of his arrival, quickly became a regular for United after overcoming inconsistent form early on, but his head would be turned three years later following interest from Real Madrid.
Although the Daily Mail linked him with a departure in 2013, it was in October 2014 that Spanish outlet Marca claimed Los Blancos were genuinely interested in De Gea, as Iker Casillas had an uncertain future at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 41-year-old, who was 23 at the time, was tipped to be sold the following summer and De Gea was a rising star after making his debut for the Spanish national team.
United were desperate to keep the shot-stopper, but ABC said in November 2014 that he turned down a new contract while being open to joining Real, so they had a tough task fending off interest.
The Madrid-born goalkeeper came through Atletico Madrid’s academy as a child but wanted to join their fierce rivals as an adult.
The Red Devils weren’t going to sell their first-choice star in January, so a deal would have to be negotiated for the summer of 2015 – one year before his contract at Old Trafford would expire.
This left United with a choice to make, whether to cash in early while De Gea still had value, or risk losing him for nothing the following year.
They were open to keeping De Gea in his final year with the hope of tying him down to a new deal, but Real weren’t willing to wait, as Casillas was sold to FC Porto that summer.
Despite having an entire summer to negotiate a deal, however, Sky Sports said an agreement between the two clubs wasn’t made until deadline day, August 31, 2015.
The Deadline-day Debacle
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague revealed to Sky that Real agreed a deal worth £29m for De Gea, with Keylor Navas going in the opposite direction.
United were expected to receive £18m for the Spaniard, while Navas was valued at £11m, but the move was delayed as Navas was still deciding on his future.
Balague said at the time:
“Communication started going more fluently with Manchester United since the morning (but) the fear was they didn't have enough time because it was all pending on Navas.
He finally decided and accepted to be part of the deal.”
The deal would fall through, however, as Real failed to access FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS) and he also failed to register with Liga de Fútbol Profesional on time.
Releasing a 10-point statement in the aftermath, the Spanish giants claimed to have not received complete documentation from United until 12:02 am- after the transfer window had shut.
United claimed Real didn’t upload De Gea’s transfer documents in time.
Real insisted they tried to complete a deal earlier in the day but were made to wait eight hours for correspondence from United.
They said United wouldn’t let De Gea leave without Navas being part of the move, blaming the Costa Rica international’s uncertainty over leaving for slowing the transfer down.
Real said they sent contractual documentation to United at 13:39 Spanish time but didn’t receive United’s remarks until 21:43.
They claim to have accepted the amendments and sent contracts signed by De Gea and Navas at 23:32.
United reportedly reached an agreement with Navas’ representatives at 23:53 and entered De Gea’s details at 00:00, sending Real Madrid the signed transfer contracts at the same time.
But Real didn’t receive the paperwork until 00:02, so the TMS was closed.
At 00:26, Real were given a chance by FIFA’s TMS to fill out De Gea’s details, as the period of registration in England remained open for longer, but their efforts were in vain.
Real sent the contracts to the Liga de Fútbol Profesional but couldn’t get the deal over the line.
United responded to the statement, claiming Real didn’t make contact until lunchtime on deadline day.
They say they sent transfer documents for both players at 20:42 BST and had De Gea’s paperwork returned at 22:32 without the signatory page.
At 22:40, minutes before the UK deadline passed, United claimed they received ‘major changes to the documentation.’
The Red Devils say they didn’t get De Gea’s necessary documents until 22:55 BST but still didn’t have Navas’ from Real.
United are adamant that they sent the transfer agreement at 22:58, uploaded it onto TMS and accepted it before the deadline, but Real didn’t upload it in time.
United say the Football Association can confirm they filed the paperwork on time and were offered support by the FA in any dispute with FIFA.
They claim to have timestamped documents to Real but admitted with delight that De Gea would be staying at Old Trafford.
Reports suggested United held up the deal due to problems with a fax machine and Neil Custis continued the rumour two years later in an opinion piece for The Sun. However, those claims were never verified.
A Twitter search of ‘De Gea fax machine’ shows the myth has become football folklore now, however, and a lot of fans attribute De Gea’s failed move to faulty electronics.
What happened after De Gea’s transfer fail?
De Gea would go on to sign a new four-year deal less than two weeks after the transfer fell through.
The Guardian said his salary went from £40k per week to £200k per week. There was a rumour about a release clause allowing Real to sign De Gea at a later date, but it was never confirmed.
Navas would be a regular at the Bernabeu for three seasons until Real signed Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea in 2018.
De Gea remains a regular at United to this day, having made 532 appearances in all competitions, but his future is uncertain after recently turning down a contract extension.
The 32-year-old signed another four-year deal in 2019, taking his salary to £375k-per-week, but The Athletic said in March that United wanted him to take a pay cut.
The Red Devils are reportedly confident he’ll stay at Old Trafford despite him being out of contract in two months, however, so De Gea may not be leaving just yet!
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