Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MONEY TO
Flop Sanchez was the marquee signing who backfired on Reds as his £500,000-a-week salary destabilised the entire dressing room
ALEXIS SANCHEZ was the hottest property in the Premier League when he moved to Manchester United in January 2018.
But 16 months later, Sanchez has proved to be a costly mistake as he has failed to deliver on the pitch and his contract has put a ticking time bomb under Old Trafford.
No one should forget that Sanchez was seen as a world-class talent. He had been a superstar at Arsenal, while Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola had also been desperate to sign him.
In fact, Sanchez was seen at the time as a marquee signing, one which United were using as a statement to put two fingers up to their “noisy neighbours” to say they could still attract the biggest names.
Two Manchester City titles later, United have ended up with an ageing striker, who scored just one Premier League goal this season and has lost his way as well as his place in the team.
But perhaps the most damaging aspect of Sanchez’s transfer has been the effect it has had on the rest of the dressing room. United paid over the odds for a player whose contract was six months away from expiring.
They had to give him a massive deal, and his £500,000-a-week wages have had a huge destabilising effect on his team-mates and the club.
Sanchez is the biggest earner and the rest of the players want parity.
David De Gea has stalled on re-signing because he wants the same cash, while other players have used Sanchez’s salary as a starting point for their own negotiations.
Furthermore, the contract furore seems to have affected De Gea’s form and he has lost his focus and is no longer widely accepted as the best keeper in the world.
Sanchez, 30, was renowned at Arsenal for his incredible work rate, spectacular goals and never-say-die spirit on the pitch. He epitomised the South American style of strikers, and his hunger and desire there for all to see. But now he appears to have lost that part of his game.
There had been warning signs of him becoming a diva at the Emirates. He was increasingly difficult to manage and seemed to lose his motivation after Chile failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Many were convinced that a fresh start at United would relight his fire, but it did not pan out like that.
He now looks a pale shadow of his former self.
This week Sanchez apologised to the fans on the back of a poor season, but, in a rabble rousing post on social media, insisted United would return to the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
But the club is a long way from emulating the Fergie era, and new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has struggled to get the best out of Sanchez – just like Jose Mourinho before him.
In fact, Sanchez seems to symbolise everything that is wrong with the Reds now, as an underperforming, overpaid superstar.
United probably cannot go forward until they start getting players like him off the books – which is why they must be ready to take a big financial hit on the misfiring striker.