Manchester United Paying $864,414 Per Game For Sanchez's Poor Form, Report Reveals

Manchester City were the favorites to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal last season, but lost out to arch-rivals Manchester United, who signed the Chilean in a swap deal that involved Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving to the Emirates Stadium.

United landing Sanchez ahead of their arch cross-town rivals City was considered a major coup, as he was at the time considered one of the best players in the English Premier League. He was expected to take United to the next level and help manager Jose Mourinho take them back to challenging for the title.

According to Football Leaks, at the time, Sanchez became the highest paid player in the Premier League with a reported weekly wage of £391,000-per-week ($514,000), but that was not all as there were also other bonuses included in his contract like £75,000 per appearance and an annual signing on fee of £1.1 million.

City, who were the front-runners, later admitted that the economics of the deal meant that they were no longer interested in pursuing the player. That the reigning Premier League champions, who have never shied away from paying over the odds in the past, were pulling away showed that United had pulled out all the stops to land Sanchez ahead of their rivals.

The Chile international has thus far made 22 appearances for the Red Devils, which has reportedly set the club back by £658,000 ($864,414) per game. According to the Daily Mail, who have acquired information from Football Leaks, there are further payments that Sanchez’s entitled to should he score and assist a combined 40 goals in a season and progress in the Champions League.

While United are one of the wealthiest clubs in the world and likely to flinch at the cost of signing one of the top players, the Chilean’s start to life at Old Trafford has been anything but rosy. Sanchez has managed just three goals since joining in January, which means his current employers have shelled out £4.38 million ($6.35m) per goal for the former Barcelona forward.

Mourinho is certain that Sanchez will find his best form once he gets used to his new surroundings, but it is unlike the Chilean to make such a slow start. In his three years with Arsenal, he scored 80 goals and provided 45 assists in 166 appearances, with 25 goals and 12 assists coming in his debut campaign.

Sanchez’s arrival at United has not only had the desired effect for the team, but also affected the careers of two promising forward players, namely Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, who play in same right wing position.

Rashford has suffered the most despite his impressive performances since breaking through into the first-team from the academy. He is regarded as one of the future stars of United and England.

It remains to be seen how long Mourinho will persist with Sanchez before he drops him to the bench to hand Rashford a chance. The English striker has started just one game this season, but according to the Mirror, he could be in line for his second start when United take on Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday night.