Senior club officials at Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune F.C have denied making any kind of offer for Alexis Sanchez.
The Sun wrote a story on Sunday claiming the Chinese club had offered the Chilean £400,000-a-week to join them, adding that Alexis rejected them to join Manchester City.
However, a statement from the club states otherwise:
Chinese Super League side Hebei CFFC have denied lodging a £400,000-a-week offer for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez.
A senior club official told Southern Metropolis Daily: "We have never made a bid or any offer for Sanchez. The Sun's story is fake news." pic.twitter.com/rxNju1WOxO
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) December 19, 2017
It isn’t the first time The Sun have made up a story for their own gain, so it’s nice to see them publicly called out for doing so. Perhaps they hoped that inventing rumours about a club from a far away country wouldn’t lead to anyone calling them out.
It’s still perfectly possible Alexis could leave Arsenal for City in January, with the 29-year-old struggling for form this season and Pep Guardiola having showed a real interest back in the summer.
But now, at least, we have confirmation that we shouldn’t trust the publication on the matter. Even a side with Hebei China Fortune’s money would do well not to sign an ageing and out-of-form Premier League forward for such lofty wages.
Given how keen Alexis was to join Man City in the summer, it’s hard to see him being that open to a move to the Chinese Super League.