Once upon a time, transfers went from rumour to event in fairly short order. A name would be kicked around for a few days, then the clubs would meet in the morning, agree a fee at lunchtime, the medical would happen in the afternoon and there'd be scarf- and shirt-holding in time for tea.
Simpler times. The Ángel Di María to Manchester United transfer is progressing in glacial fashion, forcing tBB to come up with ever more elegant variations on "reportedly," "done deal," "progressing" and "brink". But as the apparently complete purchase advances further beyond the event horizon, and as the internet argues over whether he's on a plane or not, we know one thing. He's said goodbye to Real Madrid:
He has come and has not practised. It's not official yet, but he came to say goodbye. We gave thanks for what he has done for this club and wish him luck for the future. It is not official, but it is solved. I have personally had a good relationship with him and did a fantastic job here. It was his decision to leave because the club did everything possible for him to stay by offering everything to him to stay.
Those words came from Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid manager, and so we can at least take heart that something should maybe start to actually happen soon. After all, he's not going to want to go back after saying goodbye. That would just be awkward.