Those mischevious so and so’s!
The Daily Express say that Spanish outlet ABC claim (and we can verify that ABC do claim this) the real reason for David De Gea wanting to join Real Madrid is not out of a desire to return to Spain or be with his girlfriend.
Instead, they claim that Louis van Gaal fell out with the goalkeeper shortly after the Dutchman became United manager last year. We’ll let the Express take it up:
De Gea has been linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer after refusing to sign a new deal at Old Trafford.
It had been claimed that De Gea wants to return to his hometown to be closer to his girlfriend.
But reports in Spain suggest that the keepers decision to leave may have been motivated by a clash with Van Gaal.
According to Spanish newspaper ABC, Van Gaal lobbied to bring in Keylor Navas as his first-choice keeper when he took over at United because he didn’t trust De Gea.
De Gea won the Dutchman over with his sparkling form last term, but the damage was allegedly already done.
It is suggested that De Gea hired Jorge Mendes as his agent with the express goal of getting a move away from the Red Devils.
Mendes promised he could achieve that but United continue to insist they will hold onto the 24-year-old unless Sergio Ramos comes back as a part of any deal.
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Our take on it?
Well, this would make sense only if the negotiations had been much smoother. Because, if Van Gaal really wanted Navas and not De Gea, then what’s stopping things now? And why do United have Cillessen waiting in the wings and are not going heavy on the Navas negotiation now?
It seems to us that they don’t want De Gea to leave at all – but, reluctantly accepting he will in a day or a year, the Red Devils are keen to arrange the best deal for themselves.