Exclusive: Man Utd's deal to sign Alexis Sanchez worth around £180 million as they offer him £14m a year after tax
Manchester United’s breathtaking deal to sign Alexis Sanchez is worth around £180 million after the forward agreed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
Sanchez is now just waiting to find out if Henrikh Mkhitarayn will give the green light on a switch in the other direction to Arsenal, which would trigger his move to Old Trafford.
The 29 year-old will be paid £14m a year after tax - just under £27m a year before tax - to join United, on top of his £30m valuation, £20m signing-on fee, and an agents’ fee worth more than £10m. That all adds up to around £180m for a player who had entered the final six months of his Arsenal contract and goes some way to explaining why Manchester City walked away from negotiations.
Similarly, despite Antonio Conte admitting his admiration of the Chilean, Chelsea, who went close to signing Sanchez last summer, would not match the figures on offer at Old Trafford.
How would Alexis Sanchez fit in at Manchester United?
Despite widespread acknowledgment over what a talented player he is, there is astonishment among clubs and agents over the numbers involved in the Sanchez deal. Sanchez is now hoping Mkhitaryan will quickly reach an agreement with Arsenal, although the Armenian wants to become the highest earner at the Emirates.
Having already sold Theo Walcott to Everton for £20m, Arsenal are closing in on a move for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who wants to leave Borussia Dortmund. Aubameyang is believed to have a verbal agreement to join Arsenal and the Gunners now need to agree a deal with Dortmund, who would ideally like to take Olivier Giroud in the other direction.
Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi is another potential target for Dortmund, although the Belgian is keen on a loan move to Sevilla. Arsenal’s interest in Aubameyang and Mkhitarayn has been driven by recently-appointed head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, who helped to sign the pair for Dortmund. But the Gunners’ transfer policy has been criticised by former striker Ian Wright, who said: “Everything that is happening is being forced on them through other people.
“Mkhitaryan is not a player Arsenal have been after - he's a player that Arsenal have been handed.
“It's the same with Aubameyang - a couple of years ago, he was on everyone's radar but now he's gone a bit cold. Then all of a sudden, he's on Arsenal's radar - it all feels panicky for me.
“Of course they are both quality players. But if you are losing Sanchez, you need players that will hit the ground running. I'm not sure about Mkhitaryan's state of mind right now.”
