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Football

12th Jan 2018

Gary Neville takes Guillem Balague to task over comments on Alexis Sanchez’s options

"Why is it Pep or Money?"

Darragh Murphy

Gary Neville has wholly rejected claims that money is the only reason why Alexis Sanchez would choose to move to Manchester United.

Sanchez is at the centre of a January tug-of-war between United and arch-rivals Manchester City, with the former reportedly taking the lead in the race for his signature.

The Arsenal forward’s contract at the Emirates is up at the end of the season and the Gunners would be willing to part ways with Sanchez this month on the cheap rather than let him leave for free in the summer.

According to reports, City were prepared to offer £20 million for the Chile international’s services but United settled into the deal’s driving seat by offering £5 million more than their noisy neighbours, as well as a greater wage packet which might persuade Sanchez to turn down the chance to work with Pep Guardiola again.

Sky Sports’ Guillem Balague has summed the deal up by insisting that Sanchez’s choice essentially boils down to either a reunion with Guardiola or a healthier bank balance.

Well Red Devils legend Gary Neville is not, for one second, having that reductionist summary of Sanchez’s options.

Neville took to Twitter to call out Balague’s assessment, reminding him that United have the more illustrious history and that money is not all that they would offer the 29-year-old.

Balague attempted to clarify his stance on the matter but, again, Neville demanded answers.

In a bid to narrow the vast difference in opinion, Balague drew on Neville’s past by offering him a hypothetical scenario involving his former manager.

But it will surprise few that Neville just wasn’t willing to change his opinion.

On Friday, United boss Jose Mourinho was asked about his interest in Sanchez and while he remained predictably non-committal, he did hail the quality of the former Barcelona and Udinese player.

“I don’t think it is ethical or correct to be speaking about players of other clubs,” Mourinho said.

“If somebody speaks about one of my players, to say we are interested or not I wouldn’t be very happy.

“Sanchez is an Arsenal player. I don’t know but probably this weekend he is going to wear Arsenal colours. I don’t think it is correct to say things about Alexis Sanchez.

“At a general level, what I can say is that myself and the Manchester United board, we do not believe a lot in the January market. We don’t believe in signing a player just to do something.

“What we believe is there are some players in the football world where, if you have a chance to sign them, whether it is in January, March or July, then you have to try.

“In relation to Sanchez all I can say, which everyone else says, is that he is a phenomenal player. I feel I shouldn’t say much more than this.”