Chelsea could not afford Sanchez

LONDON. — Chelsea and Arsenal went head-to-head last night for a place in the Carabao Cup final with Antonio Conte admitting neither team can compete financially with the might of the two Manchester clubs.

The English Premier League soccer champions had never been in contention to sign Alexis Sánchez this month, despite declaring an interest last summer, after it became clear the forward’s wage demands – he is believed to command a basic salary of around £300 000 a week – and agent fees would be prohibitive. Manchester City drew the same conclusion, with Manchester United, who made the most money of any club in the world last year, finalising a deal on Monday.

Chelsea still hope to secure the signings of Edin Dzeko and Emerson Palmieri from Roma for an initial £44m, yet City’s outlay in the market over recent seasons still dwarfs that of the Stamford Bridge club, for all their status as one of the original nouveaux riche under the ownership of Roman Abramovich.

“In this moment, there are two teams in this league who are ‘top’,” Conte said. “The others have to fight for a place in the Champions League. Last season we did a fantastic job and did a little miracle. This season is showing this.

“We won the league and reached the FA Cup final, and finished with a profit of £50m in the transfer market (actually £69.2m, largely as a result of Oscar’s sale to Shanghai SIPG). — The Guardian.