The Chilean forward has flopped massively since his move from Arsenal, costing those at Old Trafford an incredible amount in the process
When Manchester United swapped Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez in January 2018, it looked one of the best pieces of business done at Old Trafford in years.
Alexis arrived having scored 80 goals and provided 45 assists in 168 games at the Emirates, while Mkhitaryan departed having failed to hit the heights expected after his transfer from Borussia Dortmund two years previously.
"He was cheap, wasn't he? Free transfer! He was free," then manager Jose Mourinho even said after the signing, treating the press room to a wry smile.
But just over 18 months on, the deal couldn’t look much worse.
Alexis is a shadow of his former self and yet the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
In Der Spiegel's book ‘Football Leaks: Uncovering the Dirty Deals Behind the Beautiful Game’, it was revealed that the 30-year-old earns a basic salary of £391,000 ($478,000) a week, while also picking up £75,000 ($92,000) per game started and an annual £1.1 million fee.
That’s on top of his £20m ($24m) signing-on fee, while, according to the Daily Mail, the club are also still paying out £5m ($6.1m) in agent fees – the same figure Alexis would receive if making 30 starts in a single season.
Fortunately for the Glazers, the 30-year-old only started 13 times last season, but the player still pocketed £975,000 ($1.2m) each time his name appeared in a first 11.
As of August 19, 2019, Alexis has cost United around £55m ($67m) on his basic contract alone, without including performance-related bonuses and add-ons, with at least a further £96.8m to come if he stays at Old Trafford.
The depressing thing for the owners is that, with just five goals and nine assists from his 45 games as a Red Devil, he’s not even been worth the outrageous outlay.
He's essentially delivered £11m ($13.4m) per goal, £6.1m ($7.5m) per assist, plus £2.5m ($3.1m) per shot on target, £1.7m ($2.1m) per start, £1.2m ($1.5m) per game played, £764,000 ($933,000) per chance created and £19,800 ($24,200) per minute played.
Der Spiegel revealed that Alexis also has bonus payments of £500,000 ($610,000) and £1m ($1.2m) for United winning the Premier League and Champions League, respectively – but he’s helped them get nowhere near lifting either trophy.
Worse still – he will earn at least £93.5m ($114m) before his contract at Old Trafford expires in the summer of 2022. "Free transfer", Jose, really?
