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 32-year-old an extension suggests his comments defending his No.1 might be sincere.
"He has the most clean sheets in the Premier League," Ten Hag said after the recent mistake at West Ham. "So we would not be in this position without him. He has fully my belief, no concerns, that happens but as a team, you have to deal with it, you have to show character. Be resilient and bounce back and this team will do. We want him to stay and we want him to extend his contract."
However, it's understood some figures at United want to move on from De Gea and there are growing concerns, which have been exacerbated by his recent performances, among others about his suitability for the rebuild of the club.
De Gea;s renewal will not guarantee his status as the No.1 goalkeeper, though. Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton could leave this summer and United are understood to be open to signing a new goalkeeper.
Henderson wants regular starts in the Premier League and it remains to be seen whether Ten Hag thinks he can usurp De Gea in the starting team. The academy graduate is contracted to United until 2026 and he believes he's good enough to be No.1.
The stumbling block is that Henderson could be sidelined until early August after undergoing surgery on a thigh problem. He could be absent in pre-season and that doesn't give him the best chance to claim the starting role.
United have made signing a striker their priority this summer, but De Gea's displays this spring suggest the goalkeeper department needs a closer look. Ten Hag will then decide how to efficiently spread his transfer budget in the market.
Although it might be too late, the pragmatic option would be to pull the plug on De Gea's contract extension and start next season with Henderson as the No.1, as he's already on the books and would not command a chunk of the budget.
But that seems highly unlikely at this stage, with United willing to persist with an actively declining goalkeeper.
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