Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes that his team are the "victims" in Real Madrid's pursuit of David de Gea

The Spain international, who arrived at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 2011 for a fee of £17.8m, has made it clear that he wants to move to the Santiago Bernabeu following months of negotiation. However, despite the transfer distraction forcing the Dutch boss to drop his number one for the Premier League opener against Tottenham, Van Gaal insists that Los Blancos will have to meet his valuation if they are to sign De Gea.
"Manchester United always have to pay," he told the press. "We have to pay for all the players a certain amount, and what have Real Madrid offered?
"We are asking money and they have to pay the money. In the last few years Manchester United has paid a lot of money and we never received a lot of money for our players.
"I am the victim, the fellow players are the victims, the club is the victim and that is why the transfer period has to change," the former Barcelona coach continued.
"He is the best goalkeeper we have had the last three years and in two years he was nominated by the fans as the best player at the club. Do you think the trainer-coach wants him to leave? I don't think so."
It remains unclear who will replace the 24-year-old in goal for the first Premier League game of the season, after Van Gaal revealed that the speculation had disturbed his No.1's concentration.
"We have seen in our training sessions and matches he is not the David de Gea of last year," he added. "He tries, he does his upmost best, but it is a difficult situation. He cannot manage this situation. A human being is more than just a player and he cannot manage so he will not play and you will have to wait to see who does.
"We have to play our first match and this is the most important match so I want players who can focus only on the match. He is not capable of doing that."