Manchester United are admitting David de Gea has declined with new contract terms

This Conservative government has normalised spectacular U-turns on key decisions but David de Gea performed his own in 2015.

Although De Gea was set to join Real Madrid in that summer, a fax machine that was supposed to confirm the details of the transfer infamously did not work and the move collapsed, leading him to sign a contract extension at Manchester United.

De Gea signed a four-year contract and his salary was raised from £40,000 a week to £200,000 a week. Real Madrid went on to win four Champions League titles in the next seven years, but De Gea has no regrets about the dodgy fax machine.

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The Spaniard became the world's best goalkeeper in that period and he signed another contract extension in 2019 to make him the world's highest-paid player in his position, although he's set to lose that status in the next month.

De Gea's contract expires at the end of the season, but he's in negotiations over an extension and the official announcement is expected soon. The only immediate negative for the stopper is the new deal will see him receive lower wages.

United are happy to give De Gea a new contract providing he signs on reduced terms, which is essentially an admission he's declined. It's difficult to think of such a high-profile example where a player has been happy to earn less money.

A new contract on reduced terms publicly says that club figures agree with the outside assessment of De Gea, which is that he's a goalkeeper that has succumbed to decline and someone who will need to be replaced.

Erik ten Hag has backed De Gea after his recent blunders and he was never going to hang a player out to dry in a press conference, but offering the