Manchester United will sell Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan for free, in a similar fashion to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s impending transfer to AS Roma.

FERRARA, ITALY - JULY 16: Alexis Sanchez of FC Internazionale celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Serie A match between SPAL and FC Internazionale at Stadio Paolo Mazza on July 16, 2020 in Ferrara, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
FERRARA, ITALY: Alexis Sanchez of FC Internazionale celebrates after scoring his team’s third goal on July 16, 2020. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Fabrizio Romano reports that Inter Milan and Manchester United now have total agreement over a permanent deal for Alexis Sanchez. Inter won’t pay any kind of fee to United, but they will take care of his full wages.

Alexis already agreed personal terms with Inter, after spending the season on loan with them. So it’s only a matter of time until we see an announcement on the deal now.

It’s clear why United made the decision to let the 31-year-old leave without a fee. His form fell off a cliff after he left Arsenal, whilst his wages were higher than ever. No one would pay both a transfer fee and the wages to sign the winger now.

Arsenal have a similar agreement with AS Roma for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, according to reports. They’re letting the former Manchester United player leave for nothing more than a £1m compensation fee from the player’s camp.

As with Alexis, the savings to Arsenal come in the form of unpaid wages. They hang onto around £11m in salary and bonuses.

It’s just another reminder of how terribly the Alexis-Mkhitaryan swap deal went for both clubs.

The former contributed to 14 goals in 45 appearances for Manchester United, whilst the latter got up to 22 goal contributions in 59 games for Arsenal. Neither won a trophy with their new club and now both are leaving for free.