Man City blamed for failure to sign Gago

Jorge Valdano, the Real Madrid sporting director, has laid the blame squarely at the feet of Gary Cook and his colleagues for the failure to land Fernando Gago on the final day of the transfer window.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was a keen admirer of the Argentine international and the player was high on the list of wanted targets for City during the transfer window. But the deal had to be scrapped as the transfer deadline loomed due to the time constraints.

However Valdano has spoken out, alleviating any suggestion that Madrid were to blame for the debacle. The transfer fee of £15.7 million had been agreed between the two clubs. The problematic issue appears to have been agreeing personal terms with the player.

“They had not reached an agreement with the player and they would have had to have done everything in 40 minutes,” Valdano told the El País newspaper.

City have privately rebuffed this suggestion. Instead the English club point to the overpricing of the player by the Spanish giants as the decisive stumbling block.

Madrid originally wanted £21 million for the player and the exuberant price tag deterred the Manchester club from making an offer. Yet Cook reopened negotiations on last Monday with just hours to spare.

It is not the first time that City’s transfer dealings has come under scrutiny. Their fruitless pursuit of Kaka this time last year was blamed on the poor negotiating skills of Gary Cook and the other officials at the club.