Jose Mourinho’s stint at Manchester United was meant to bring them out of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise and back into the winner's circle having struggled in the three years since the great man’s retirement.

His first season was a success, winning the Community Shield, League Cup, and Europa League and greater things were expected. Yet, over the next 18 months, United failed to build on this and a series of big-money flops along with poor results meant the enigmatic Portuguese manager was sacked in December 2018.

The likes of Paul Pogba (£89m), Romelu Lukaku (£75m), and Eric Bailly (£30m) all failed to live up to their inflated transfer fees, however, it was the deal to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January 2018 which was one of Mourinho’s worst investments during his spell at the Old Trafford side.

How much did Alexis Sanchez cost Manchester United?

The Chilean had enjoyed wonderful spells at both Barcelona and Arsenal, scoring 126 goals and registering 82 assists during these spells and it certainly looked like he could take United to the next level following his £30m move from the Gunners - which also saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan head in the other direction.

His final few months at the North Londoners hadn’t been as prolific however, scoring only seven Premier League goals in 19 matches while being dubbed “woeful” in December 2017 by football writer John Cross, although his first six months in Manchester showed glimpses of his quality.

Three goals and five assists in 18 matches was hardly groundbreaking, but it was a decent enough start and something to build on ahead of the 2018/2019 campaign.

The move couldn’t have turned out worse. Across 27 matches in all competitions that season, the forward scored just twice, while grabbing only four assists - a rather measly return for any forward player, let alone for such a high-profile figure.

He joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal in 2019 which was made permanent the year after, although United didn’t make a penny on the transfer and the whole deal was simply a colossal waste of money.

Along with his £30m transfer fee, Sanchez also earned a staggering £59.8m in wages across his United contract, which lasted 132 weeks, rinsing the club for an astonishing £89.8m in total combining fee and wages.

Considering his failure on the pitch, scoring just five goals in 45 appearances, it represents one of the club’s biggest failings in the transfer market in recent years.

Hopefully, with Erik ten Hag in charge, big-money flops like this will be a thing of the past.