Alexis Sanchez has contributed to a massive 10% rise in Manchester United’s wage bill for the quarter, pulling in reported base wages of £390,000 a week.

According to figures reported in The Times, Sanchez is earning just shy of £400,000 every week before you even consider bonuses, contributing to United’s wage bill increase of £7.1m.

This fits almost perfectly with leaked figures in the Daily Mail from earlier this year. They claimed Sanchez earns £391,000 a week from his base salary, plus a £1.1m annual signing-on fee.

He also gets £75,000 for each match started, £2m for 40 goals and assists in a season, £1m if Manchester United win the Champions League and £500,000 if they win the Premier League.

In total, that means that since his departure on 22nd January, United have paid Sanchez at least 43 weeks of £390,000, 23 starts worth £75,000 each and the first of his £1.1m signing-on fees, for a total of £19,595,000. That’s £4.9m per goal. By Christmas, he’ll be 30 years old and over £20m richer than when he left Arsenal.

No wonder the rumours are starting to spread that Sanchez could be on his way out in January, as those are ridiculous figures for United to pay for a squad player. Say what you want, but Sanchez certainly did a good job of maximising his income to perform so averagely.