City apparently moved in for Gago after their attempt to bring McDonald Mariga from Parma broke down and he joined Inter Milan instead.
Speaking to El Pais, Valdano said: "They had nothing prepared, not even one document signed. They had not reached an agreement with the player and they would have needed to do everything in 40 minutes."
Gago's agent Marcello Lombilla told radio station Onda Cero: "City used us. This has never happened to me before. "I don't want to talk about the figures that City were offering because they approached Madrid without even knowing there wasn't physically enough time to put something together."
Source: PA
Source: PA