I think there's more to it. Wenger making a point of saying how professional United are, when asked if Alexis had just chosen money, indicates something has gone on IMO.
Manchester City 17/18 discussion | "If you're here for the Champions clap your hands" (#6505)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
I think there's more to it. Wenger making a point of saying how professional United are, when asked if Alexis had just chosen money, indicates something has gone on IMO.
I don't think it's one upmanship but people are wondering how it's all come about. You have to say it's quite surprising with such a U turn. Certainly think that with City releasing such in depth information to the media, and Wenger remarks today theres much more to this than money.
I don't care if it's a snub, because it doesnt mean much in the grand scheme of things. But it's obvious Sanchez doesn't buy into the media peddled bollocks of City being the best thing since sliced bread.
What this deal shows is that City are small fish in football. Coutinho was only ever going to Barcelona because of the stature of the club. Sanchez does not care one bit about City. In fact, Guardiola is a bigger pull for players than City.
What this deal shows is that City are small fish in football. Coutinho was only ever going to Barcelona because of the stature of the club. Sanchez does not care one bit about City. In fact, Guardiola is a bigger pull for players than City.
That's completely not true and you've just made it up out of think air. £14m net is what £20m+ gross which is a lot more than £250k-£300k per week before tax we offered. Just about every paper everywhere has run with this so they can't all be lying, where you pulled that out of I'll never know. City's offer was £13m gross.
While Sanchez may have chosen United over City regardless, don't even pretend the figures were close on the same. Look we've signed tons of players who only joined for money at city too, its not the end of the world just call a spade a spade, there is zero need for United fans to try and save face as you have no reason to. Simple really, Alexis was worth more to United than City, so they offered more (plus had Mkhi to save on cost)
As for Arsene's usual anti-city crying. I'd imagine he's just taking a pain that we're the reason he ended up in this situation at the start of the season and that we wanted Sanchez on the cheap. He constantly moans about City any change he gets, as if we're the reason he's destroyed his club by buying shite upon shite.
People are all saying City said this and City did that but in reality the club have said nothing and all that has come out of the club is "his agent changed his demands and we were unwilling to meet them."
http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/manc...ached-for-arsenals-alexis-sanchez-the-figures
City's offer was £20m transfer fee to Arsenal
£13 million net per season + £30m signing bonus to Sanchez
I have absolutely not made that up, City-fed newspapers have run with a low offer from City and a high offer from Utd. Di Marzio is the one that broke this story, and has been one step ahead of british media.
City's offer was £20m transfer fee to Arsenal
£13 million net per season + £30m signing bonus to Sanchez
I have absolutely not made that up, City-fed newspapers have run with a low offer from City and a high offer from Utd. Di Marzio is the one that broke this story, and has been one step ahead of british media.
I have a feeling City thought Alexis would wait until the summer for them and tried to bully Arsenal with that, hence Wenger's comments. I don't think they matched United's bid.
There is a great deal more to this saga than you, or indeed the club you follow, are willing to let on.
I find it rather odd that City, given their recent history for vastly overspending in the transfer market, have suddenly chosen to adopt a moral stance regarding Alexis Sanchez and his wants and needs. Consider first your current squad of players in relation to the vast amount of money it cost your club to acquire them. City have been paying well over the odds for x number of years now, seemingly throwing money about as if it were going out of fashion, yet Sanchez is not worth the effort. Why is he unworthy of such exorbitant expenditure?
I mean in terms of the best attacking players the world has to offer - one whom is Prem proven, in his prime and available - Sanchez is smack bang at the top of the pile, but for some reason or another City deem his services not required. It just doesn't make sense, especially when you consider that City's refusal to meet his demands has allowed United, their biggest and closest rivals at present, to not only enter the race but win it outright.
Given the fact that United are prepared to bend over backwards to sign anyone who will help close the gap on City, do you not think the latter would stump up the extra cash simply to prevent that from happening, even if it meant him rotting on the bench as it were? Sanchez will not only walk in to our first 11, he improve it substantially.
Personally I think Sanchez chose to snub City in favour of United.
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totally agree, we wanted him on the cheap due to the position we're currently in
totally agree, but over time that should hopefully change
That's the way I see it, its not like your not scoring goals easily, I also have a feeling that FFP could be a worry for you at some point and if the wages he wanted, £300-500K a week would be a massive problem, £100K a week more than your current top earners. Its a case of would have been nice, but not a real priority.
Funny how it's "Sanchez snub City rather than the other way round" now lol, whatever fits ur narrative I guess
The funny thing is United fans all conveniently want to forget is virtually every single credible source that broke the Sanchez to United story all commented that Sanchez's preference remained City, including the BBC, who are as good as it gets. But no, obviously the sources they got about Sanchez to United were spot on, whereas the stuff on Sanchez preferring City they plucked out their arse.
Again, a load of nonsense. City had been speaking to Sanchez for a long time before deadline day and he had agreed a deal, the problem was Arsenal refusing to sell. They had a change of heart but it was too late in the window for the deal to go through because Lemar rejected them. The reality remains that if City matched the offer United have given to Arsenal and his agent, all credible sources suggest Sanchez would be in a City shirt right now.
Well this is what I said on Bluemoon (before they banned for basically questioning the stupidity of this decision):
For the record, what I was trying say with with point 1 was that both our clubs have made far too many bad transfers in recent years. In other words we would be both doing a lot better than we actually are at the moment if we spent the money on the right players rather than wasting it on people who are simply not cut out to play for both our clubs.
Both D.Silva and Fernandinho are 32, yet despite that they are among the most important players on that team, likewise at long as Sanchez has not got the health/fitness regime of Rooney. I think we can get 1-2 good seasons out of him and more importantly we get a player can help the club move forward as well.
If we are actually aiming for a Quadruple (which the clubs owners want to aim for) and do with the sort of high performance Pep expects from his teams, having only 2 wingers (in Sane and Sterling) is nowhere near going to be enough. No player (no matter how good they are) cannot be expected to play 60+ games at the same level of world class performance (and play for their national teams from time to time) and manage all that without getting tired, suspended or injured. That is why we need Sanchez quite frankly and in turn that is why we also need more attacking players like Hazard, Salah, Erriksen, O.Dembele, Dybala and Kane alongside Sanchez (1)
(1) Overall we need at least 7 Attacking Players in our team (4 Wingers and 3 Strikers) when we have only 4 Attacking Players (2 Wingers and 2 Strikers) at the moment (with one of those currently out for quite some time, this is because one needs to have 2 World Class XI's (which we don't have) to even start to reach the sort of success levels we to be reaching as a club. Ideally to be able to win Quadruples (and strong league title wins) across multiple seasons we actually need 10 Attacking Players (6 Wingers and 4 Strikers) and in turn 3 World Class XI's but of course the PL's/CL's squad limits would never permit it.
B.Silva is more of a CM than a RW, thus considering the lack of decent CM's we seem have for a team aiming for all 4 trophies (1), if signing a player like Sanchez means we have to play him more as a CM (2) then I would be all in favour of it. Because we need all the good players we can get in those positions.
(1) Yes I know we have got D.Silva and KDB, but we can't play them in every single game (across a 60+ game season) and keep expecting the same excellent perofrmances, especially when the former needs to take time off to deal with the personal things that are going on in his life and in turn we cannot rely on Gündoğan to back them up (who has only get come back from an extended run of injuries)
(2) With him alongside Gündoğan rotating with KDB and D.Silva
Sterling had that kind of attutide at Liverpool in his last season and then some when it came to his personal life, yet that on its own was not a barrier for our club signing him and considering how he has performed under Pep, I would be surprised if any of our fellow fans have any regrets signing him now. Thus if we are willing to sign Sterling (despite the issues he had) and have that transfer work out, then we should be willing to sign Sanchez on that basis.
Besides after all the effort he has put in game after game across the previous 3 seasons (and even this season), after the fact his almost singlehandly won the FA Cup last season (and beating us in the process) for them (1) and after being at many times being the only player that put his effort for the Arsenal. Can you blame him for acting out like that after having done all that, achieve very little and having to deal with a manager + owner who firstly both don't give a dam and secondly are both undermining both the team and the club as a whole.
(1) Despite the car crash that was Arsenal last season.
I would agree we need to get someone else to back up/rotate with Fernandinho, simply because he is without a doubt the most important player on the pitch for us and after how Yaya has performed for us (1), losing Fernandinho would put the League Title at risk.
However despite this, finding another DM is only one of the players we need to purchase to be able to have the 2 World Class XI's we need to have to reach the sort of sucess levels we need to reach (and maintain the same levels of peformance across a whole season). In fact we also need to be getting (in the next 2 transfer windows) 2 more Wingers, another Striker, another LB, another CM and 2 CB's as well. Likewise if Bravo does end up messing up (2) this season then we might need to get another goalkeeper as well.
(1) Considering how he has done in previous seasons it is such a shame he has declined so much...
(2) Which thank god he has not done this season, rather he has saved our arse in the League Cup 2 times in a row against both Wolves and Leicester.
For this season yes, but as a long-term solution it is not something we should be trying to do. Simply while Delph is a good LB, I still don't think he is good enough to play for a team like City. After all while he has been reasonally solid if Rashford (1) can get past him then goodness knows how is going to fair against the best attacking talent Europe has to offer.
(1) Nothing against him personally, just that for all that he has achieved he is still a player who is developing into a World Class player as things stand, but he will get there soon enough.
Well, we are having problems since late November in keeping the performance levels as high as they were earlier in the season and quite frankly it is not going to get easier on us.
Alongside Sanchez, I would agree that a DM, a LB and CB are all essential buys in this trasnfer window. However I would also say that this window we should have outbid Liverpool for VVD quite frankly (1) and done the same for Coutinho as well (2). Both those signings and Sanchez would have done us a lot of favours in keeping our performance levels up in the second half of the season.
(1) Considering how short we are of decent CB's (and of course Kompany's injury issues), likewise I feel VVD made a big mistake in joining them considering what else they need to be both Premier League and Champions League contenders, something that require's addtional investment beyond Henry's means and will. After all for all the issues both United's and City's squad's have, they are still better (especially if United get Sanchez) in all departments than Liverpool's.
(2) The thing is for him, he has jointed a club that is going to have to do a lot of rebuilding squad wise as Messi reaches the Autumn of his career, just when they depend on him more than ever to carry the team forward. So the question that he should be asking is if is willing to both wait and hope they manage to pull it off (despite the cock-ups in the transfer department of late), a question that City should try and answer for him, because quite frankly we need a player like him in our club.
The thing is though, if we are going to find another attacking player which is as good as him (and even if we get Hazard and Kane, we would still need Sanchez), they are going to be costing a hell of a lot more then he is going for at the moment (1) and likely demand the same wages as well.
(1) And funny enough, less than Ox-Chamberlin cost in the summer transfer window (in terms of trasnfer fees).
Considering Chelsea's attacking issues, if anything they need Sanchez more than both United and City do (and for me that is saying something). Certainly he would be a much better buy than Carroll (although in his case, even Vardy would be a better choice).
By "credible sources" you mean the many fans of Pep currently working in the media? Yeah, no.
@1Manchester totally comes in and nails it, a cut above our previous resident blues for sure.
Altough I don't agree on both clubs doing similar blunders in the transfer market lately, IMO City have outdone us in the transfer market the last few years bigtime, some very shrewd signings.
Altough I don't agree on both clubs doing similar blunders in the transfer market lately, IMO City have outdone us in the transfer market the last few years bigtime, some very shrewd signings.
Come on City supporters refute this now.
@1Manchester
Can see why they banned you from Bluemoon with such a balanced point of view. Good effort with the post as well.
Can see why they banned you from Bluemoon with such a balanced point of view. Good effort with the post as well.
There is only one person that broke the Sanchez to United story and it was Di Marzio; the British press ran with their tails between their legs to City for inside info because they had no idea. You must be completely deluded to think that 'Pep vs Money' is an objective stance on this transfer; yet many 'credible' sources ran with it anyway. City even briefed the media that they were pulling out and fabricated interest from Chelsea.
Sanchez could have gone to City in the summer just gone, or waited to go on a free to City. The reality is that his number one priority is getting out of Arsenal, his second priority is money. Even if his preferred destination is City; it's quite clear that his preference changes as often as the direction of the wind; because he is going to United.
Do the BBC fall under that category? Maks Cardenas, the Chilean journalist close to the national team?
You keep on ignoring someone's actions and going by words because they make you feel comfortable. If Sanchez really wants to go City then he would go.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...-11-5m-of-own-transfer-to-barcelona-99vw9rn22
The above is when someone actually wants to go to a club. Coutinho paid £11m+ out of his own pocket to go Barcelona!
In fact, you don't even know the context of Sanchez preference and just assume he's drunk the koolaid. It is completely possible, that the reason City was his preferred destination was because he got to play under a top manager for a lot of money. Then what happened, is that United came in with more money; so now he gets to play under a top manager for even more money.
Sanchez does not think Pep is the saviour of footbal, and that Man City is the biggest club in the world. They have a top manager and lots of money; that's why he wanted to go there.
Really hope they go for £24m Evans, give him a 5-year-contract and Castles/Custis can announce the £100m Jonny Evans deal. 
Means they'll have:
Stones, Otamendi, Kompany, Mangala, Evans
Not one top central defender, and they probably won't go for a better one until they've realised Evans is no world-beater.
Means they'll have:
Stones, Otamendi, Kompany, Mangala, Evans
Not one top central defender, and they probably won't go for a better one until they've realised Evans is no world-beater.
Really hope they go for £24m Evans, give him a 5-year-contract and Castles/Custis can announce the £100m Jonny Evans deal.
Means they'll have:
Stones, Otamendi, Kompany, Mangala, Evans
Not one top central defender, and they probably won't go for a better one until they've realised Evans is no world-beater.
By every measure of performance, Otamendi is a top PL defender. Who would you classify as top defenders today?
Bailly, Alderweireld, Van Dijk (if Kloppo doesn't ruin him), Ramos, Pique, Godin, Umtiti, Laporte, Thiago Silva etc.. Otamendi is too prone to lapses, just watch the Liverpool game. Basically the first game all season the defence of City has been put to the test.
The bolded makes me feel you haven't watched Ramos much.
The first two need to show more to be placed in that category. Van Dijk hasn't shown anything at all. Your classification is a bit off IMO.
In my opinion they're all better.. Think it'd be hard for you to find many neutrals who believe Otamendi is a better defender than Bailly and Alderweireld.
It's your own opinion, but your reasoning seems faulty. Plus, I'm not questioning rankings. I think they are all in the same tier, and you'd be hard pressed finding neutrals who think the first two are much better than Otamendi.
If you can only cite one game all season where Otamendi has messed up then you're on the wrong side of the argument. And no, it's far from the first time we've been tested all season.
No, many would easily agree they are better.
Makes them think we can be caught mate, that nobody's tested us until now. Let them have their comfort blanket.
If you can only cite one game all season where Otamendi has messed up then you're on the wrong side of the argument. And no, it's far from the first time we've been tested all season.
Top bantz, mate. Mate.
Don't ever accuse me of attempting banter.
I’ve been a big critic of Otamendi in seasons gone by, when he spent most of his time on the deck, but this season he’s been fantastic. Far exceeded anything I thought he’s be capable of after the last few seasons gone by. Not only defensively, but also in retaining the ball. He had a terrible game against Liverpool but so did the entire back 5 included the Keeper. They’ve all been excellent this year.
Yeah but they haven't been tested at all this season. Or something.
I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how Delph is shit.
I can 100% assure you City didn't offer £13 million net, a long way south from that figure.
You're talking rubbish. City were snubbed, hence the huge attempts to save face with constant media briefs. Even Wenger had a dig talking about the professionalism of United and mentioning how we generate our own revenue (why say that?)
If Sanchez felt so strongly about going to city then he'd just wait until the summer and sign for free. You may have had an agreement in the summer but when we came on the scene you didn't stand a chance.
Big up to Arsene Wenger for putting club rivalry aside and publicly respecting United's financial integrity.
Wenger defended United by arguing that Manchester United can pay Alexis Sanchez however much they want and he will always “respect” it, because United, unlike the oil teams, City and Paris Saint-Germain, generate their money through their own footballing success, commercial activity, tickets and merchandising. Paying Sanchez is okay because United's money has not come from a benefactor or a state, but is self made. The contrast with the oil clubs does not even have to be made but most journos read Wenger's comment as a blatant dig against the City project sending.
Wenger defended United by arguing that Manchester United can pay Alexis Sanchez however much they want and he will always “respect” it, because United, unlike the oil teams, City and Paris Saint-Germain, generate their money through their own footballing success, commercial activity, tickets and merchandising. Paying Sanchez is okay because United's money has not come from a benefactor or a state, but is self made. The contrast with the oil clubs does not even have to be made but most journos read Wenger's comment as a blatant dig against the City project sending.
If City had matched everything Utd did to the penny do you think his decision would be different?
Yep, because you were willing to offer substantially more money to him, his agent and Arsenal