Manchester United don’t see it as a potential problem though.
When (it’s looking like a when and not an if) Alexis Sanchez signs for Manchester United, he will become one of the highest-paid players in the world football.
The Chilean, who has reportedly agreed a four-and-a-half-year deal with United, will earn around £14m-a-year at Old Trafford.
wow. £14m AFTER TAX is roughly £500k per week. https://t.co/mw3PXDNXs7
— Raphael Honigstein💙 (@honigstein) January 17, 2018
Sanchez’s wage demands are certainly striking and it appears as though they were too much for Bayern Munich, who expressed an interest in the Arsenal forward in the summer.
According to German football expert Raphael Honigstein, the Bundesliga champions felt that, if they signed Sanchez, his ‘unrealistic’ wage demands would ‘ruin’ the dressing room, as you can see in the tweet below.
BTW, Bayern pulled out of negotiations with Alexis Sanchez in the summer because they felt his wage demands were unrealistic and would ruin the dressing room.
— Raphael Honigstein💙 (@honigstein) January 17, 2018
According to Honigstein, Arsenal were happy to sell to Bayern in the summer. The German club had also agreed to pay the requested €67m fee, but negotiations ultimately broke down over wages.
Had Bayern acquiesced to Sanchez’s terms, it would have made him a higher earner than star performers like Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller at the Allianz Arena. With that, it may well have caused friction in the dressing room.
Sanchez has earned a reputation for being a divisive figure in the Arsenal dressing room. Reports emerged recently suggesting that he had become increasingly unpopular among certain players, which provided an interesting insight into his character.
One of the key factors in Manchester City pulling the plug on a deal to sign the 29-year-old was an unwillingness to meet Arsenal’s asking price. Some observers pointed out, however, that such a development may end up being a blessing in disguise for Pep Guardiola’s side as signing Sanchez would have risked disturbing the tremendous togetherness the Catalan coach has managed to instil in the Premier League leaders this season. They also weren’t prepared to pay Sanchez more than current stars, such as Kevin De Bruyne.
Bayern’s decision to turn down Sanchez is worth United fans bearing in mind. While the club are capturing a truly fantastic talent, he can be a troubling one. With so many egos in the United dressing room, it will be interesting to see how he gels with his new teammates at Old Trafford – and with his new manager, Jose Mourinho.
