La Liga president believes Real Madrid's side of David de Gea story
Tuesday 8 September 2015 13:20, UK
La Liga president Javier Tebas has suggested Manchester United are to blame for the collapse of David de Gea's transfer to Real Madrid.
The Spain international goalkeeper was set to move to the Madrid giants in a deal worth £29m, with Keylor Navas heading in the opposite direction, but the paperwork for the transfer was not completed prior to the Spanish deadline.
The clubs have pointed the finger at each other for the embarrassing collapse but Tebas believes Real should be absolved of any blame.
"If you were to ask anyone from Real Madrid or Manchester United, they would know more about the subject than me," Tebas said, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News HQ.
"All I know is when I spoke to Madrid, things happened a bit late but I believe in Real Madrid's version a little more than Manchester United's version."
When asked if Real Madrid contacted him to appeal, he said: "No. They just rang to see what had actually happened and if there was any way within the rules that it could be put right.
"Having been involved in those situations myself in the past, when things get tight to the deadline, I believe Madrid did everything they could and behaved in totally the proper way to make sure David de Gea would have been on his way to play for that club."
La Liga and the Premier League have emerged as the two powerhouses of European football in recent seasons, with their top teams regularly dominating lists of the world's richest clubs.
Tebas admitted that the wealth of the clubs competing in the Premier League makes it difficult to compete with, but he is confident La Liga is not being left behind.
"It is always going to be a tough competition when you look at the money the Premier League gets," Tebas said.
"But I think we are on a roll because more transfers took place in the Spanish league in the last transfer window than ever before in football history.
"€600m was spent and that is not counting Real Madrid and Barcelona. Barcelona could not spend and Real Madrid chose not to.
"We know it is tough to compete with the Premier League but we are moving in the right direction and becoming more competitive as the years go by."
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