Posts Tagged ‘Alexis Sanchez’
Manchester United’s Sanchez accepts a 16-month suspended jail sentence for tax fraud
How’s Alexis Sanchez fitting in at Manchester United? Pretty good. The new Manchester United striker has accepted a 16-month suspended jail sentence for alleged tax fraud. This means he’ll avoid a trial. He will repay the full amount plus interest.
The BBC:
The ex-Barcelona player faced going to trial in Spain over unpaid taxes amounting to around 1m euro (£886,000). The unpaid taxes derive from image rights deals in 2012 and 2013. When Sanchez, 29, was first accused in 2016, his agent said the Chile forward had “fully obeyed” laws and his image rights income “has been declared”.
Sanchez now earns £14m a year after tax. United pay his tax bill so any future alleged miscalculations might be best avoided.
You wonder how playing a man with such a record impacts on Manchester United’s brand values. We looked up what those values are. On the always entertaining Red Cafe, a conversation headlined “What are Manchester United’s ‘values’?” tells us:
Personally for me it’s hard to look at the modern iteration of United without seeing commercialism written all over it. They must be the only club in the world with an “official noodle partner” for Christ’s sake.
This idea of United being “different” is a bit pretentious for me given they are probably the most commercial football club in the world and commercialism is seen by many as the biggest issue in football behind corruption.
…
Agree with the OP that the club is entirely about profit and it will remain that way I’m afraid.
…
We are different because of our history. From Munich to the Busby Babes, to the 70s and 80s of the club. Then the 26 years of SAF. We are a unique club. We have done things differently with our attacking football, our breading of youth, which has continued with the call up of Lingard into the squad. We do have ethical values. We won’t sack LVG if we feel he is doing a good job just because a shiny new manager (Ancelotti/ Pep in this case) has come along. We really tried with Moyes even though after just a few months we all knew he was out his depth. That season could have been saved but we stuck to our guns and kept faith in him.
Now we have coaching staff with Giggs and Butt in it. We have ambassadors such as Charlton, SAF, Robson, Cole. We have kept with traditions and have tried to maintain the culture throughout the club.
It’s what makes me proud to be United.
That was then. But it’s something to hold on to next time the ‘keeper bypasses the defence and smacks it long to the front players. For many people, football’s all about the money. Now pass the official prawn sandwiches round…
Posted: 7th, February 2018 | In: manchester united, Money, Sports | Comment
Why Sanchez gets kicked at Manchester United but not at Arsenal
Jamie Redknapp tells his Daily Mail readers that Alexis Sanchez “was born to play for Manchester United”. After that kind of guff, you know you’re in for a cavalcade of nonsense. And in “kicking little devil Sachez is the only way to stop him!” we get it in spades.
Sanchez is, you will recall, the player so good that he was let got by Barcelona, joining Arsenal, where he thrived, earning plaudits for his dynamism and skill. Now aged 29 and apparently reborn three matches into his new career at Man United, Redknapp is seeking signs of messianic homecoming.
Redknapp says Sanchez has been fouled “15 times” during his United career. That, we’re told, is a foul every 17 minutes. “Against Huddersfield alone he was fouled seven times, the most for a single player in a Premier League game this season.”
Or as the ,er, Daily Mail note in January:
Seven against Crystal Palace, four against West Brom, then three against Chelsea – Jack Wilshere knows how to draw a foul.
But never mind the facts because Redknapp has a to-deadline point to make, asking:
“Are opponents deliberately targeting the Premier League’s best-paid player?”
No, not Wilshere. He’s talking about Sanchez.
Figures have been updated, and Sanchez is now the PL’s fourth most-fouled player (56 times fouled), one ahead of Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace; £60,00-a-week) and behind Watford’s Richarlison (Watford; 1st place; £22,000-a-week), Dele Alli (2nd place: Spurs; £50,000-a-week); and Jordan Ayew (3rd place; Swansea City; £50,000-a-week).
Redknapp then gets tautological:
“Players are not going out to kick Sanchez because he earns £350,000 a week. It is simply because nobody can get near enough to get the ball off him!”
But they do get near him. You have to be very near a player to foul someone (unless you’re Dele Alli).
And foul’s only occur when Sanchez isn’t being fairly dispossessed:
32 – Alexis Sanchez has lost possession of the ball more often today than any Manchester United player has in any Premier League game this season. Loose.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 3, 2018
Redknapp’s not finished:
“It is no coincidence that Sanchez was fouled just four times in his last three games for Arsenal. His head was turned by the prospect of a move and he lacked the desire to get on the ball”
Arsenal’s farewell performance came as a 66th minute substitute (Chelsea away). The two matches before that he played the full 90 minutes in each (West Brom away and Chelsea at home). Did he lack desire? Sky, which also employs Redknapp, says he was Arsenal’s most vibrant and best player during the Chelsea game. The Mirror says Sanchez “looked dangerous” throughout when Arsenal took on West Brom.
Other highlights from Redknapp’s insightful column: Arsenal need to “build a team who can deliver these wonderful performances every week.” You think?
“Eddie Howe ticks every box” for “any owner” of a top 6 side looking for a manager. Although the boxes marked ‘Big Cups Won” and “Availability” do look a little empty.
Posted: 5th, February 2018 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comments (4)
Daily Express uses fake Sanchez story to seduce Manchester United fans to Bullshit.com
As Alexis Sanchez prepares to sign a new deal with Manchester City or Manchester United – something that looked unlikely before Arsenal made the Barcelona reject look a bargain – the Daily Express gets the scoop, as ever it must. No fewer than two hadlin es scream that Sanchez to United is a done deal.
Alexis Sanchez to Man Utd: Romelu Lukaku confirms transfer on Snapchat
Alexis Sanchez to Man Utd: Fans rage at each other as Lukaku confirms deal
The clue to this being total balls is in thoes inverted commas about ‘confirms”. You might spot them, but the Google bots that serve content to the world do no. In terms of getting traffic, inverted commas are the fake news’ friend.
The story, such as it is, is classic clickbait.
…on Lukaku’s personal Snapchat, the Belgian posted an image with three emojis. The Chile flag had an arrow next to it with a devil emoji in a black background.
The image was swiftly deleted but not before fans spotted Lukaku’s apparent confirmation and fans on social media believe it’s a clear sign that Sanchez has chosen United over Manchester City.
And so after two headlines and eight paragraphs, the fact emerges:
…eagle eyed fans spotted that the image was fake. Lukaku’s Snapchat account is Romelu.Lukaku10 but the image has Lukaku’s username as rLukaku9.
Ha. Yeah. The Express should put Romelu Lukaku’s name in inverted commas, too, because the story has nothing to do with him.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 15th, January 2018 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Sanchez agreed a new contract last December
Time for Arsenal to burn their bridges with Alexis Sanchez and kick out the sulky forward.
News is that the Chile international wanted to stay at Arsenal, allegedly shaking hands on a new deal last December.
Everything was agreed. But before Arsenal’s dithering board got any contract signed, the club were demolished 10-2 over two Champions’ League matches by a no-more-than-decent Bayern Munich side in March. Sanchez realised Arsenal were rubbish.
His future lay at Manchester City. They bid £60m, which Arsenal, in thrall to a palsied management structure of limited ambitions for anything other than routine dividends, rejected. Now they’ve got a misfiring player on huge wages. The only way to get something out of the situation is to push Sanchez out this January before he can leave for free at the season’s end.
Cue, then, the paper talk that he reneged on an agreement to remain at the club. Boo! Get him out!
Posted: 23rd, December 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, Sports | Comment
Arsenal transfer balls: Sanchez to PSG for £25m and Manchester City for free
Transfer Balls: a look at poor football reporting. Today the papers are looking once more at Alexis Sanchez, the Arsenal player yet to rediscover the form that made him such a force.
News is that Sanchez is to join PSG. He’s closing in on a move to Paris St-Germain after his agent flew to the French capital for talks, says The Metro. He was there in August, of course. The Metro told us Sanchez was in Paris to finalise the deal he’d agreed in July. But it turned out to be total balls. Sanchez had been in the city to renew his work permit.
The Express says PSG will offer Arsenal £25m. That’s not too shabby for the 29-year-old player. But the Daily Mirror says Sanchez will hang on and join Manchester City for free at the end of the season, when his contract expires. City will pay him £400,000 a week. The Mail says Manchester City are “almost certain to sign Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez in the summer”. The Guardian says it’s “likely” Sanchez will join City in January.
Right now it looks as though Arsenal stuffed up in rejecting City’s £60m for Sanchez last summer. The player’s been disappointing for the Gunners. Although he never did go on strike, as the Express said he would.
Sanchez is an Arsenal player. And in late November, Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, was adamant, telling a press conference: “In my head, they stay until the end of the season. Unless something unbelievable happens I don’t see that changing.”
Not that anything is all that believable when it comes to reporting on Sanchez.
Posted: 22nd, December 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: Sanchez and Wenger meet in secret and all about that handshake
Alexis Sanchez Watch: an at-a-glance look at the Arsenal striker in the media. Today the Mail leads with a question: “Was this the moment Alexis Sanchez ignored his Arsenal manager ahead of training?” We, of course, adhere to Ian Betteridge’s law of headlines, which states: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”
So, no. And, indeed, after clicking the link, the Mail delivers a further headline:
Alexis Sanchez appears to snub Arsene Wenger at Arsenal training as contract dispute rolls on
The dispute is, of course, nothing of the sort. Sanchez has not gone on strike. Arsenal are not sacking him, nor suing him. The Gunners want him to stay. Sanchez wants a lot more money to play for the Premier League’s fifth best team. Negotiations are ongoing.
Sam Morshead then adds:
Was this the moment Alexis Sanchez ignored his Arsenal manager ahead of training?
No.
The Chilean striker, whose Gunners future remains up in the air, appeared to blank his boss prior to a session at the club’s London Colney facility on Wednesday.
Wenger, who was embarking on his ritual of shaking each of his players’ hands before putting them through their paces, was acknowledged by Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil – but a short video clip shows Sanchez apparently walking on by.
Take a video clip. Remove it from context, Stick it into a pre-ordained narrative. And write a clickbait headline. Bingo! And having seduced Arsenal fans with total ball, Morshead then notes:
They saw Sanchez head on towards a group of his team-mates instead of approaching Wenger, though the Gunners manager did not offer his hand to his star striker and appeared to say ‘I’ve already done you’.
To put it another way, then:
“Arsene Wenger appears to snub Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal training as contract dispute rolls on”
Or:
“Wenger does not shake Sanchez’s hand twice”
Or how about:
“Sanchez happy with team-mates and life at Arsenal”
Or as Morshead puts it:
…given reports about a frosty relationship between player and coach in the past, moments like these always give rise to speculation.
What frosty relationship? Oh, the one the tabloids keeps harping on about. Because no sooner has one tabloid conjured total balls from a non-event than the rival organs are reporting the tosh as fact:
We do like the Daily Star’s idea Sanchez is “troubled”, in the manner of a recovering drug addict or a Hollywood wild child is ‘troubled’.
And here’s the video of the huge happening that excited the national Press:
Alexis snubs Wenger on a handshake 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Y6Wni4xjMG
— Kolasnator (@Kolasnator) October 18, 2017
So, what really heppened? Well, Sanchez was one of the first players who arrived at training, and Wenger greeted him well before the video was shot.
In other words: “Wenger and Sanchez meet in secret!”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 19th, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: The Metro and Google News trick fans with Sanchez to Man City story
Egregious balls in the Metro, which declares: “Arsenal News: Alexis Sanchez has decided to join Manchester City.” It’s one of the top three Arsenal stories on Google News:
But when you click on the story, things are not so clear. We read:
Alexis Sanchez has decided that his next destination will be Manchester City, according to reports.
But according to the Metro, Sanchez has decided to join Manchester City, right? It says so in the headline on Google News. But reading on, the Metro cites a different source to itself:
The Daily Mirror claims that the Chile international will not sign a new deal and Arsenal are now deciding whether to cash in on the 28-year-old in the January transfer window.
The Metro doesn’t bother to link to the Mirror’s story. But we do. And it does not say Sanchez has agreed to join City. It says Arsenal are in talks to extend Sanchez’s deal at Arsenal and that if the Chilean doesn’t stay in London, he could leave for City if they pay a big enough fee.
But Sanchez has made his mind up, right? Wrong. The Metro adds:
The Daily Mirror reports that Sanchez’s future in January will be decided by Arsenal’s season so far and whether the club are in with a realistic chance of winning major silverware.
Utter balls, then, in the dire Metro, which tricks people into reading its bilge.
Sanchez has not decided to join Man City. Other than that the story is correct.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 13th, October 2017 | In: Back pages, News, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Sanchez talks progressing well and Manchester City worry
When Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger talks, the tabloids churn his words though the mangle and spit out sensation. Discussing the futures of the team’s Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez – both players in the final year of their current deals – Wenger said:
“The fact we didn’t agree last year doesn’t mean he [Ozil] wants to leave… Both players look happy and overall I hope the situation can be turned round, but at the moment we are not close enough to announce anything. Talks are going well.”
The headline news is that talks to keep Sanchez and Ozil at Arsenal are “going well”.
A journalist than asks if there’s deadline to the talks. “No,” says Wenger, “not at this moment.” The journo asks if it gets to the January transfer window and no deals have been agreed Arsenal will “count their losses” and sell bother players. Wenger says you “envisage every solution”. Will they leave? “It’s possible,” says Wenger.
Of course it is. That much is not new. The news is that talks are progressing with both players. Indeed, Ozil’s agent says his man wants to stay in the Premier League.
But in the Manchester Evening News the story that Arsenal are working to keep Sanchez becomes: “Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez hands Pep Guardiola transfer dilemma.” This apparent dilemma is whether Manchester City should buy Sanchez in January. But it’s not a dilemma in the Mirror, which announces: “Manchester City plot cut-price £20m transfer swoop for Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez in January window.” Neither the Mirror nor MEN cite a single source for their stories.
Over in the Daily Mail, the Chilean has already made his mind up. “Alexis Sanchez set to leave Arsenal in January,” says the paper. “Arsene Wenger is resigned to Alexis Sanchez leaving Arsenal in the January transfer window,” says the paper.
Is that what he said? No.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 13th, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Manchester City, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comments (2)
Sanchez kisses the badge and stays at Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez has been training hard at Arsenal. And today he did the unthinkable: he kissed the badge.
.@Alexis_Sanchez with a cheeky kiss of the badge? 😘
The @Arsenal star appears in a jovial mood ahead of open training at the Emirates. #AFC pic.twitter.com/EufVJj2FFW
— Hayters Teamwork (@HaytersTeamwork) August 3, 2017
Might it be that Sanchez wants to remain at Arsenal, the club offering him £280,000 to extend his current contract? The Mirror says Sanchez” will tell Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger this week that he wants to join Manchester City.” But he hasn’t told him yet. And even if he does, Wenger’s non-plussed. “He is focused. My decision is clear, he will stay. He will accept that,” says Wenger. He adds: “The frame of mind of a footballer is quite easy – once you go out into the game, you focus on that.”
Posted: 3rd, August 2017 | In: Arsenal, News, Sports | Comment
Alexis Sanchez was in Paris to get his UK work permit
You read the news that Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez has “agreed“a four-year contract with Paris Saint Germain? You read that the Arsenal player had been in Paris to meet with PSG reps? And like me you thought it odd that no-one had a photo of Sanchez in Paris. Now Sanchez is in London, training with – yep – Arsenal. But the Daily Mail has news: “Judgment Day: Wantaway Sanchez flies back to London ahead of return to Arsenal… but what was he doing with his lawyer in Paris?”
He was, er, agreeing to play for PSG?
The Mail doesn’t answer. It just notes that “his brief stop-off in France has led to some fans questioning whether PSG is his next destination, while Man City supporters are still hopeful he will arrive at the Etihad.”
Hie next destination turned out to be Arsenal. Which leaves us to wonder what Sanchez was doing in Paris, if it wasn’t to sign a contract with PSG? The Daily Telegraph explains:
Ruben Inostroza Povea, who is Sanchez’s lawyer, uploaded a picture of the pair preparing to leave Santiago airport, Chile, on Sunday evening.
Odd. The paper said he was already in Paris. But at least his time there was a photo to prove that he wasn’t. But why was Sanchez heading to the French capital?
According to Povea’s Instagram picture, the trip included a stopover in Paris, where the forward is thought to have renewed his British work permit.
Just like he did in 2014, when he first joined Arsenal.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 1st, August 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Key Posts, Manchester City, News, Sports | Comment
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is sick, grasping and pathetic – no wonder they all want him
Good news for those of you who hate football? The domestic season is yet to begin and already a player is doing a great impression of a grasping, unlovely git. Arsenal’s wantaway striker Alexis Sanchez, easily the side’s best player, has posted an photo of himself being ill. He’s not chucking up or in radiotherapy. He’s wearing a scarf indoors, cradling a dog and pulling the kind of face a spoilt brat uses when their over-indulging parent says ‘No more cake’. His agent says he has the flu.
Alexis Sanchez turns 9 29 in December.
I love the game but modern football is a hyped sport brimful of grasping berks.
The problem for Arsenal is that rampaging Sanchez scores goals. And when you overlook all the posting and pouting, that’s a rather useful quality.
Posted: 29th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Arsenal Transfer Balls: Alexis Sanchez goes missing in Paris
Transfer Balls: How much money is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez’s worth? Much guff has been written about the Chilean player whose Arsenal contract expires in a year’s time. The pick of the stories is the one that placed Sanchez in a Paris hotel room in readiness for his move to the city’s PSG. He’d been “spotted” in Paris by a raft of top media titles – but no-one of them had had the presence of mind to take a photo of the player. Moreover, not a single passer-by, hotel worker or fan has produced a photo of Sanchez in Paris.
With not a muon of evidence of Sanchez ever having been in Paris last week, the Metro nonetheless managed to connive the headline:
Alexis Sanchez agrees four-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain
Alexis Sanchez agrees four-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain
The Metro adds that PSG will secure Sanchez on a £36m transfer and pay him £275,000 a week – £5,000-a-week less than Arsenal have offered. Really? No. It’s total balls.
The Telegraph counters:
Wenger’s conviction that Sanchez will stay has been strengthened by influential French daily newspaper L’Equipe reporting that PSG have now switched their attention to Barcelona’s Neymar.
Plus Arsenal have already stated their resolve to keep Sanchez.
“My mind has been made up for a while now. I think I’ve made it clear a few times that this is my stance [he will stay at Arsenal],” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger yesterday. “Sanchez has got one year to go on his contract and we have no need to make money. He will be part of the team next year and after that I can understand it. We are in a strong financial situation so we want to keep our best players. Has he asked to leave? No.”
So much for the facts. What about the fee?
£90m – Daily Star, July 11
£80m – Daily Express, July 9
£70m – London Evening Standard, July 23
£50m – Daily Mirror, april 17
£45m – The Metro, July 22
£40m – Daily Express, June 8
More fake news every day in the trusty mainstream media.
Posted: 24th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports | Comment
Clickbait Balls: Manchester United and Arsenal fans tricked by world’s worst journalism
Transfer Balls: The Manchester Evening News has big news for Arsenal and Manchester United fans: “Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho talks Alexis Sanchez.”
Can it be that Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is on Manchester United’s shopping list? Having reached the MEN’s scoop through Google News, the story begins:
Jose Mourinho has admitted it is a ‘shame’ Manchester United did not sign Alvaro Morata and appeared to dismiss any chance of a move for Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.
He only “appeared” to. So there’s a chance Mourinho wants Sanchez.
When Mourinho was asked by a Spanish journalist if United were attempting to sign Morata, he replied in Spanish: “It is a question for Florentino [Perez, the Real president]. I don’t know the first thing about Sanchez.”‘
Weird answer, no? Mourinho just tags Sanchez onto the end of a reply. Has he done that to wind up Arsenal and Manchester City, who were said to be keen on the Chilean? No. He’s not talking about Alexis Sanchez. He’s talking about Jose Angel Sanchez, Real Madrid’s director general.
Mourinho: “A possibilidade de Morata jogar no United é uma questão para Florentino Pérez e Jose Angel Sanchez.” pic.twitter.com/MPK28aTI4P
— Portal Madridista (@RMadrid11BR) July 16, 2017
But The Metro didn’t even bother to read that. It thunders:
Freudian slip? Jose Mourinho mentions Alexis Sanchez to send Manchester United fans into transfer meltdown
Undeterred by fact, the Metro coughs up a cut-out-and-keep guff of dire journalism. This is it pretty much the clickbait balls in full:
Jose Mourinho has got Manchester United fans very excited by accidentally mentioning Alexis Sanchez’s name when asked an unrelated question at his post-match press conference.
The Portuguese oversaw a 5-2 victory against LA Galaxy in the early hours of Sunday morning, and afterwards he was asked, among other things, about Real Madrid frontman Alvaro Morata.
But curiously, Mourinho appeared to get the Spanish striker and Arsenal’s wantaway Chilean mixed up, with many fans now speculating that it was a Freudian slip hinting at genuine interest.
When Mourinho was asked by a Spanish journalist if United were attempting to sign Morata, he replied in Spanish: ‘It is a question for Florentino [Perez, the Real president]. I don’t know the first thing about Sanchez.’
The exchange got pulses racing, with United fans debating whether it was an accidental slip of the tongue or something more substantial…
Of course, it is possible that the Special One innocently misspoke, or he would even have been referring to a different player – midfielder Renato Sanches, perhaps.
But even his choice of language – saying ‘I don’t know’ rather than categorically ruling out a transfer… has got United fans hot under the collar.
One day on from that total balls, the Metro reads the clicks, senses that it’s on to something and produces the follow-up piece:
Why Jose Mourinho – not Pep Guardiola – is the perfect manager for Alexis Sanchez
Ewan Roberts didn’t bother to check the source of his opinion piece. He just thunders:
Jose Mourinho doesn’t do innocent slips of the tongue. Depending on how cynical you are, his name-dropping of Alexis Sanchez over the weekend ranks somewhere between a Freudian slip or the planting of a seed. Whether he intended to or not, the Portuguese has inserted Manchester United onto the list of potential suitors for the Chilean – and they may even top it, with Old Trafford arguably a better fit than their sky blue rivals down the road.
The article based on poor research and what looks like a cynical disregard for readers trawls on and on, pausing a while to produce a graphic of what Sanchez would look like in the United side:
It’s “random” stuff says one writer at the clickbait-driven Telegraph:
More great journalism when we spot it.
Posted: 20th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Key Posts, manchester united, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer Ball: Alexis Sanchez staying at Arsenal unless Manchester City pay £80m
Transfer Balls: Alexis Sanchez news watch. Is the Arsenal striker leaving? Compare and contrast the Daily Star and other tabloid scoops:
Daily Star, July 4:
Alexis Sanchez will stay at Arsenal
Daily Star, July 9:
Arsenal waiting for Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich to swoop for Alexis Sanchez –
ARSENAL star Alexis Sanchez will reportedly be allowed to join Paris St-Germain or Bayern Munich – but not Manchester City.
Daily Star, July 9:
Alexis Sanchez happy to swap Arsenal for Chelsea this summer.
Starsport exclusively revealed this weekend that the Gunners are not willing to sell the former Barcelona star to a title rival.
Daily Mirror, July 10:
Arsenal willing to sell Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City – but they want £80million for him
What news in the Mirror of Arsenal’s price?
Facts to support this tory: none.
Sanchez’s desire to play for Manchester City: “City are bolstered by the belief that the player is keen to link up again with Pep Guardiola.”
And on the strength of that belief, and citing the Mirror as its source, the Sun thunders:
“LEX IN THE CITY Arsenal willing to offload wantaway star Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City for £80million”
In other news: the Mirror says Sanchez wants £400,000 a week to stay at Arsenal. Presumably, the Citizens are going to pay that for a man who’ll be 29 in December, right?
Posted: 9th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Google Translate Balls: Alexis Sanchez stays at Arsenal if you read between the lines
Google Translate Balls: News in the Metro and Sun is that Alexis Sanchez is staying at Arsenal. Both UK newspapers cite Chilean journalists on twitter and the country’s website EMOL,(aka The Mercurio On-Line) as the source of their news. We looked at the EMOL report. It’s all opinion. The report contains only one fact: Sanchez is in the final year of his Arsenal contract.
But in the race for clicks, EMOL’s round-up of what Sanchez might or might not do the becomes:
90 Minutes: “Reports From Chile Claim Alexis Sanchez Has Issued ‘Ultimatum’ to Arsenal Over Squad Investment.”
Metro: “Sanchez will reject Manchester City if Arsene Wenger is prepared to meet two conditions set by the forward, according to reports in Chile.”
We put the entire EMOL article through Google Translate. If you can find any word on Sanchez’s “ultimatum”, let us know:
New partner Alexis or his replacement?
The mind of Alexis Sanchez left the defeat behind the Confederations Cup final and is now fully set on what will be his future and his possible Arsenal game. And on Wednesday it was announced a new milestone that could give light on what the tocopillano holds: the incorporation of Alexander Lacazette to the offensive of the set “Gunner”, who was bought from Olympique Lyon for a record figure for the club London $ 70 million.
He has already passed the rigorous medical examinations.
City? Bayern? Arsenal? The future of Alexis Sánchez begins to elucidate in the coming days. The signing of the French striker is a new edge on the plans of the Chilean, as it raises the following question: Why Arsenal would hire a new striker? The first option that shuffle in England is that Lacazette will arrive at the set “gunboat” to fill the gap that would leave Sanchez, given his “imminent” departure to Manchester City Josep Guardiola.
“The spending will not stop for the Gunners, who still face the loss of Sanchez, as the City is increasingly confident that it will,” says the Daily Express. For his part, the Mirror maintains that “Sanchez and his representatives are in talks with Arsenal this week, as there is a growing fear that he is pushing to close his signing for Manchester City, after refusing to sign a new Value in their contract “.
The other possibility they manage in the British country is that the French striker comes to convince the Chilean that Arsenal is strengthening well to build a competitive team with a view to the next season. The national has consistently reiterated his intention to win titles, so one of the requirements that he asked the “Gunner” leadership is to compose a strong squad to fight a cup. And that is the role Lacazette would play. In that sense, The Guardian states that “Arsene Wenger will be delighted to close the deal (with Lacazette), especially in his fight to keep his star player, Alexis Sánchez, away from the clutches of Manchester City.” However, nothing is clear yet and only waiting to know about the future of the historic scorer of the “Red”.
Ultimatums came there none.
Spotter: EMOL
Transfer balls: Sanchez leaves Arsenal to earn less money
So hungry for trophies is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez that he will quit the Gunners and plays for… Sevilla – Spain’s oldest professional football club who last won the title in 1945. Well, so says the Daily Star, which adds that not-all-that-well-off Sevilla are ‘in pole position’ to secure the ‘disillusioned’ Chilean. In the twilight world where the Star’s news and facts merge such a move will surely satisfy Sanchez’s quest for glory and give him the £250,000-a-week he wants.
Over in Italy, we read in the Corriere dello Sport that Juventus will offer Arsenal £25m for Sanchez in the summer. The Mail says the Gunners are already looking for his replacements, casting a covetous eye on Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus, Porto’s Andre Silva and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette.
Really? Because in 2015, the Daily Star told its readers: ‘£20m Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd target Marco Reus AGREES five-year Real Madrid deal.’ He didn’t.
Spanish organ AS told its readers Silva had also joined Real Madrid. He hasn’t. AS did cite a source for its fact-free story: the Daily Star:
And Lacazette can’t play for Lyon – he does- because the Daily Express told us he joined Paris Saint Germain in 2015.
So much for the targets. As for Sanchez, The Mirror says Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is ‘privately resigned to Sanchez leaving the Emirates this summer’. That would the same Wenger who’s also leaving Arsenal this summer. We read that in the Mirror.
Arsenal fans shouldn’t wave goodbye to Sanchez just yet.
Posted: 3rd, March 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Sanchez quits, Wenger leaves and no-one arrives at fighting Arsenal
Transfer balls: Is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez ready to leave the Gunners? The BBC says “Arsenal players fear” he is.
The Mail agrees. Sami Mokbel writes in an ‘exclusive’, “Seething Sanchez blows his top at Arsenal.” The Chilean “threw a tantrum” on the pitch as Arsenal came from 0-3 down to draw 3-3 with Bournemouth. That tantrum amounted to Sanchez throwing his gloves to the turf and… And that’s it.
He was “unhappy” the Gunners hadn’t won, reveals Mokbel . He “sulked” in the changing room. He made is “clear” he was unhappy not to have won. Well, quite. Arenal fans and players want him to be keen on winning, surely. Sanchez plays to win. He has an “ultra-determined nature”.
“GUNNER GO?” asks the Mirror in is ‘exclusive’ on the same Sanchez ‘exclusive’ the Mail delivered. No longer sulking, Sanchez is throwing a “hissy fit” in the Arsenal dressing room as “Arsenal suffered a major blow in their title hopes”. Or as the Mirror put it yesterday: “The Gunners looked down and out on the south coast, but they showed a fantastic desire to get back into the game and created a Premier League first in the process.”
John Cross says Arsenal will buy no new players until Sanchez’s contract is sorted out. Ora s the BBC says today:
Hednesford Town youngster Cohen Bramall is to make the move from non-league to Premier League, by signing for Arsenal. The 20-year-old left-back will leave the Staffordshire-based Northern Premier League side for north London.
Cross is an expert on Arsenal stuff. He tells us that Arsene Wenger is out of contract this summer, “but there is a two-year deal worth £8m a year on the table waiting to be signed.”
Or as Cross and the Mirror put it:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 5th, January 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Liverpool balls: the desperate story of Alexis Sanchez
Matt Hughes and Tony Barrett explain the Liverpool transfer policy, one dictated by committee. Having missed out on the wonderful Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal, Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool looked around for a player:
The oddity is that, given that a player of Sánchez’s style is so fundamental to the way Rodgers wants his team to play, Liverpool’s response to missing out was the move for Loïc Rémy, a different type of forward altogether. That they ended up feeling the need to sign Mario Balotelli, even though he certainly does not fit the profile that Rodgers was looking for, was also bizarre, providing another indication of an inadequate strategy. These failings have been undermining Liverpool ever since, and even if they pull off a morale-boosting win this afternoon, these are unlikely to go away…
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Posted: 20th, December 2014 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Arsaenal Balls: The ‘real’ reason Sanchez chose Gunners over Liverpool is…
So. Why did Alexis Sanchez choose to play for Arsenal? The Daily Star has the truth. The headline declares:
Arsene Wenger reveals the REAL REASON why Alexis Sanchez chose Arsenal over Liverpool
What is the real reason. We thought it was a combination of money, London and Champions’ League football.
Paul Brown writes:
ARSENE WENGER claims Alexis Sanchez chose Arsenal over Liverpool because only the Gunners could match his Champions League ambitions.
Is that what Wenger said? No. He said:
“Transfers at that level take always time to get every detail right, so because it takes time, you think always that somebody else can come in – PSG, Bayern Munich. We met his agent in Brazil a few times and talked about the transfer. In Europe we did it with Barcelona. Once we got the decision he would like to join us we were happy. He had maybe not had number of games he wanted at Barcelona and I tried to convince him I could help him develop the quality of his game, that the way we play would suit him.”
But what is the ‘REAL REASON” Sanchez joined Arsenal. Brown has failed to deliver on the headline.
Over on Arsenal.com, Wenger says:
“I don’t know why he has chosen us and not anybody else, but we are very happy that he has done that.”
Such are the facts…
Posted: 20th, December 2014 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Alexis Sanchez Move To Arsenal Is An Undone ‘Done Deal’
TRANSFER Balls – Anorak’s regular look at speculation and rumour being presented as fact in the mainstream press. Today the Daily Mail leads with news that Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez is on his way to Arsenal.
Simon Jones writes:
Arsenal have agreed a £34million deal in principle with Barcelona for Chile international forward Alexis Sanchez but Barcelona are waiting to see if Juventus can match the offer.
The Metro has similar news, only it does that neat trick of altering the fee to stand out as a unique story on the search engines:
The Mirror reads the round-up of figures and opts for the more circumspect:
Mirror Sport understands a deal hasn’t been completed yet, but the Gunners are working to agree a fee with Barcelona.
So. The consensus is that Sanchez is a Gooner.
Well, not quite.
On July 2, the Express told us:
Liverpool to bank Alexis Sanchez as Barcelona jet in for Luis Suarez deal
And on June 25, the Express reported:
LIVERPOOL have already completed the signing of Chile’s Barcelona star, and Arsenal and Manchester United target, Alexis Sanchez…
So said Phil Thompson, who told one and all:
“Just yesterday I heard things from people, newspaper guys who are very close to the ground at Liverpool, saying that the Sanchez deal was actually done.”
Oh, and in case any Arsenal fans are feeling happy at the news, the Independent notes:
So. No deal done…yet…
Such are the facts…
Posted: 7th, July 2014 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Alexis Sanchez Is On His Way To Rescue Barcelona: Giampaolo Pozzo Is Talking Balls
HERO Of The Day is Udinese president Giampaolo Pozzo. His star man Alexis Sanchez could be on his way out of the club. But where to? Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Barcelona are all being touted as possible purchasers. Pozzo takes a view:
“If Barca want him, they will have to pay his fair price, which is €50m [£44m]. He is the piece missing in Guardiola’s puzzle, a player who makes the difference.”
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