Memphis Depay DEFENDS his now-deleted tweet eyeing up a ball girl at the Madrid Open as the Man United flop claims she is ‘a model in her 20s’ – and tells journalist to ‘factcheck your s***’

Former Manchester United star Memphis Depay has defended his now-deleted tweet of him eyeing a ball girl during the Madrid Open final, insisting the girl in question was ‘in her 20s’ and telling a journalist that he was ‘your s *** had to check the facts’.

Depay, who played for the Red Devils for just over a year after joining them in 2015 before moving to Lyon, currently plays for LaLiga team Atletico Madrid and was at the tennis event in the Spanish capital.

After sitting in the stands watching Andrey Rublev beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets on Sunday, Depay came under fire for a social media post in which he said he was ‘distracted’ by a ball girl, asking her Instagram account. and said he wanted to have “dinner on the moon” with her.

The now-deleted tweet was picked up by a journalist who said it was ‘not a great day’ for the Dutchman following his controversial post, coupled with reports from Spanish outlet AS that his club Atletico are looking to sell him.

The first post featured a photo of the ball girl in question from his view of the spectator seats, with the caption: ‘Someone distracted me from the game… to be honest.

Memphis Depay was behind a controversial post where he appeared to be eyeing a ball girl during the Madrid Open final this weekend

‘Someone [send] I her IGGGG. Let’s go eat on the moon.’

A journalist named Zach Lowy took a screenshot of Depay’s post and said: ‘Not a great day for Memphis Depay. First AS reports that Atlético Madrid wants to part ways with him this summer, and then he posts and deletes a tweet about a ball girl in the Madrid Open Final. The 30-year-old’s contract expires in June 2025.’

Depay responded the next morning, claiming the girl was a model in her 20s and that he had obtained her phone number.

He also hit out at the journalist for ‘spreading these stories’, saying he needed to ‘fact-check your s***’ – and dismissed any talk of his future away from Atletico.

“My day was fantastic, Zachi,” he said. ‘I saw the final and also got her number in my phone. That so-called ball girl is really a model and is in her twenties. Damn, leave a single [man] to shoot [his] shot sm.

The Netherlands international hit back at a journalist, telling him to ‘check your s***’ after insisting the girl in question was a model in her 20s

‘You disgust me [for real]. Go fact check before spreading these stories… You’re giving a weak personality, my man. We are doing well with @FabrizioRomano. Find something else…

‘As for my football future, I’m not worried… we in the lab!’

The charges come after allegations that Depay posted bail of one million euros for his former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves after he was convicted of raping a young woman in the bathroom of a nightclub in the Spanish city in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

Alves was found guilty in February and given a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence, which he appealed, with his bail set at one million euros.

Depay is best known for his difficult period at Manchester United between 2015 and 2016

It looked like he would struggle to increase this figure as the Brazilian reportedly had two empty bank accounts and another in the red, but he managed to pay the fee in March and was released from prison.

However, Depay’s agent Sebastian Ledure was told that the attacker had helped him increase this figure.

‘This is fake news. It is false news, it is not true at all,” Ledure told Informativos Telecinco, quoted by Goalon Tuesday.

Ledure also asked for the claim to be “corrected at an official level” after it spread on social media

Depay and Alves briefly played together for Barcelona between November 2021 and July 2022, after the latter returned to the club following his hugely successful first spell at Camp Nou.

Depay’s agent denied claims that the Dutchman paid a €1 million bail needed to release Dani Alves from jail after he was convicted of rape

The Dutchman is best known for his difficult spell at United after joining for £25million in 2016, but he only made 53 appearances and scored seven times for just over a season before joining Lyon in 2016/17 .

He returned to form in France, where he scored 76 times from 178 appearances, earning a free transfer to Barcelona. At Camp Nou he scored thirteen goals in his first season before falling out of favor and joining Atletico Madrid.

However, his time in the Spanish capital was plagued by injuries as he made just nine appearances in total in his first season due to muscle problems. Fitness issues continued in this campaign after missing the first part of the season.

He has made a total of nine LaLiga appearances this season, coming off the bench a further 11 times, and has not featured since the 2-1 win over Villarreal on April 1.