Arsenal’s refusal to sell Alexis Sánchez is rooted in long-term economic factors, as well as sporting ones, with the club convinced it would be more damaging to the club to accept a large fee for him this summer than to risk losing him as a Bosman free agent next summer.
Arsène Wenger spoke again on Saturday after his side’s 3-0 loss to Chelsea in Beijing about how Sánchez, who has entered the final year of his contract and has made it clear the Chilean would not be allowed to leave.
The Chile forward is a prime target for Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, with his desire being to join the former.
“The decision has been made and we will stick to that, the media just have their imagination” Arsenal’s manager said, from their pre-season tour of China. “The decision is not to sell.”
The club’s dilemma has often been painted in black-and-white terms. Either they sell now for £50m, which is the figure that Sánchez’s suitors could reasonably expect to pay, or they get nothing for him next summer.
Yet there are many layers to the situation and one of the most significant concerns Champions League revenue, which Arsenal will miss out on this season, after their fifth-placed Premier League finish, and do not want to miss out on again.
The Champions League is worth roughly £40m per year to the club and, with Sánchez playing alongside the new £53m signing, Alexandre Lacazette, they would be hopeful of making it back into the group phase of the competition. Without him the probability would drop, increasing the likelihood of a hole in the finances.
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