Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City pulled out of a deal for Alexis Sanchez because the player himself hesitated.

Alexis was heavily linked with a move to Man City but a deal now looks very unlikely. After trying to sign him in the summer, the Sky Blues pulled out of a deal this month and left Manchester United a clear path to sign him instead.

The reason given was that they were not prepared to what Arsenal and Alexis wanted. While fans have debated if this is the right call from the extremely wealthy City, Carragher has offered an alternate view.

He feels that City have pulled out because Alexis has gone back on his word. “It’s not about money,” Carragher said. “It might be for Sanchez, not for City. They’re not bothered about an extra £30m, what’s that to City? It’s absolutely nothing.

“It’s the fact that, well, it looks like he’s given his word that he’s going to come, shook on a deal almost. Manchester United have come from nowhere and offered more money – that’s not a criticism of Manchester United, maybe they have to pay more than City – but it looks like he’s backed out of the deal, and that’s why City have backed out. It’s not about £30m.”

Throughout the summer, City were convinced that Alexis wanted to play for them and Pep Guardiola. It turns out that he wasn’t as dedicated to them as they thought he would be.

United have clearly offered a substantial amount of money to get him to reconsider. In the end, City could have tried to get a deal done much sooner than they did, and could now miss out on a player they’ve been chasing for a while.