Sitting on the sidelines has its payoff! David De Gea has re-signed for Man Utd on a long term four year contract after the deadline day fiasco which saw him missing out on Real Madrid by a matter of minutes. Or that is what we’re led to believe happened. The new contract raises De Gea’s wages from $61700 per week to $308500 per week, an astronomical rise of 500%. Which now gives a sense of orchestration to the whole saga. All we can say is the Utd goalie comes out the winner. So does Utd but it comes at a price.
Rewind to De Gea’s summer of discontent where he was benched in favour of Sergio Romero and even Sam Johnstone after he was essentially declared by Louis Van Gaal as not having his head right. That came on the heel of Victor Valdes being demoted from the first squad to the reserves after he did not pay homage to Van Gaal’s philosophy. De Gea’s sulky sideline visage dominated the Spanish sports tabloids as an emboldened Real Madrid played out their game of passive aggression betting the disgruntled goalie would force a move. In their reading, the former Barca coach was an ardent anti-Spaniard, supposedly spooking Pedro into seeking counsel from Cesc Fabregas to firm a move to Chelsea after Man Utd were in pole position to capture his services. An increasingly chaotic and farcical transfer period which had also seen Sergio Ramos playing them as a banjo to enhance his Real Madrid paycheck.
Ed Woodward’s streak of not landing targeted players has led to desperation throwing bucket loads of cash at others, opening like Pandora’s box, the darkest mercenary impulses. The missed list includes Gareth Bale, Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara, Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, and most recently Ramos and Pedro. The players benefiting from Utd’s overcompensation for their diminishing lure – Marouane Fellaini, Luke Shaw, Angel Di Maria, Falcao, and Anthony Martial. There is no “look there – Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG etc”. Utd are now firmly part of the bubble that overvalues and over leverages players.
Ed Woodward gets the blame for uncorking this permissive behaviour but the roots go back to the original extortionist plot. Wayne Rooney lubed up the airwaves with salacious stories of his fallout with Sir Alex threatening to all but join City, the crosstown upstarts. Rooney’s unhappiness stemmed from the perception he was not being played enough but according to the Man Utd coach, an injury concern was causing the go slow. The upshot was Rooney who before the World Cup semaphored his delight at being a Man Utd player did not want to sign a new contract because it was a club suddenly on the decline. The Citizens were seen as the shining city on the hill with unlimited money and ambition. The turnaround stunned CEO David Gill and Sir Alex.
Three days later, the bipolar drama was over as Rooney signed a five year deal pocketing $275,000 per week, making him the richest player in the club’s history. The cute part is how he met post with Sir Alex and ironed out the differences in a kiss and make up. Manufactured outrage then manufactured consent. As fans with far more clarity have said, “what a self serving tosser”. The club is now full of them.