According to the Mail, Manchester United made a £9m pay-off to Alexis Sanchez in order to help seal the ace’s permanent exit to Inter Milan on a free transfer.
The superstar, who joined on mammoth wages in a marquee move in January 2018, has spent the season on loan at Inter after a disastrous spell at Old Trafford.
It’s claimed that the two years remaining on the ace’s United deal would be worth around £50m, so a pay-off of less than a fifth of that is certainly a coup of some sorts for the club.
The Mail add that the wide forward will earn £130,000-a-week as part of his three-year deal with Antonio Conte’s side, quite some way off from the up to £560,000-a-week the Red Devils were paying.
The Telegraph (subscription required) reported yesterday that the exact pay-off amount would be revealed in the club’s accounts later this year, but the Mail appear to have already found out the figure.
Sanchez only contributed five goals and nine assists in 45 appearances for United, the superstar quickly fell out of favour at Old Trafford after a dismal start.
The 31-year-old was loaned out to Inter last summer and even his time in Italy didn’t get off to the best of starts, with constant injury troubles plaguing the South American.
Sanchez has proved his importance to the time since the restart though, the lengthy hiatus due to the pandemic appears to have helped the ace get back to firing at all cylinders.
Sanchez has scored three goals and chipped in with seven assists in just 13 Serie A outings since Italian football resumed, this form has ultimately convinced Inter to agree a permanent deal.
The fact that a payoff just shy of £10m was needed to draw a close to Sanchez’s time with the Red Devils tells you just how badly that deal has worked out for the club.