Twitter Reacts as Manchester United Issue David De Gea Transfer Statement

It's been a tumultuous few days for David De Gea. On Monday evening, the Spanish goalkeeper looked to be within doughnut-stealing distance of a much-vaunted return to Madrid. However, bureaucracy and human error intervened, and his dream of a move to the Bernabeu was scuppered. Real Madrid immediately accused the Red Devils of putting a spanner in the works, to which the Premier League side issued a comprehensive rebuttal: 

United's statement—which aimed to absolve the club from blame while stressing their joy at keeping their beloved shot-stopper—was met with great approval from the Twitter's English-speaking fans:

"

Really a brilliant statement from United regarding the De Gea saga.. We play clean and do not indulge in malpractice unlike Madrid #MUFC

— Himanshu (@itsMemphis_) September 1, 2015"

To make the situation even sweeter for the Old Trafford faithful, there is even talk of Real Madrid being forced to give De Gea €10 million in compensation (as per AS):

Over the past 24 hours, there have been plenty of memes and jokes about the manner in which the world-class goalkeeper will have to perform a sharp U-turn and return to Manchester:

"

David De Gea when he returns to #MUFC training... pic.twitter.com/CHHolds77A

— Copa90 (@Copa90) September 1, 2015"

"

De Gea basically did 1 of those awkward ones where you say bye to your boys then clock you're going the same way as them

— Made (@MadeManJama) September 1, 2015"

Manchester United fans, naturally, are delighted with this turn of events:

"

Reading old tweets about 'De Gea leaving'. https://t.co/QcVar6j0NV

— Georgie Porgie (@FutbolSloth) September 1, 2015"

There has also been plenty of discussion about De Gea's Spanish pop star girlfriend Edurne, who is perceived to be a motivating factor for his return to Spain. The blonde singer once described Manchester as being as "ugly as the back of a fridge," which has resulted in endless trolling from gleeful Mancunians:

While a small minority of fans have expressed a desire for Louis van Gaal to keep De Gea on the bench, the majority appear to want him back in the starting XI as quickly as possible: 

As you reflect on one of the biggest transfer breakdowns in history—and one of United's biggest off-the-field successes in recent years—take the opportunity to enjoy this brilliant explanatory GIF that went viral on Monday:

"

Here's exactly how the De Gea deal collapsed pic.twitter.com/ASJvE8RmKR

— Football Vines (@FootballVines) September 1, 2015"