Pep Guardiola reveals Manchester City didn't sign Alexis Sanchez for risk of destabilising his squad

Guardiola felt that offering wages of more than £300,000 per week to the Chilean would have had a negative effect on the squad as a whole

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City pulled the plug on the deal on Monday (Getty)

Pep Guardiola has suggested that Manchester City had to give up on trying to sign Alexis Sanchez or risk destabilising the club’s wage structure.

Sanchez looked set to leave Arsenal for the Etihad Stadium until City ended their pursuit on Monday, leaving the way clear for Manchester United.

The Chile forward has agreed a four-and-a-half year contract at Old Trafford, worth over £300,000 a week, with image rights and bonuses taking that above £500,000.

City’s highest-earning players, by comparison, are on around £220,000 a week, and Guardiola did not feel that offering a significantly higher wage to a new signing would benefit the squad as a whole.

It is understood that Guardiola was also unsure about bringing in Sanchez mid-season; having failed to secure a deal last August, he would have preferred to wait until next summer, when the player’s Arsenal contract was set to expire.

Guardiola, whose Premier League leaders are at home to Newcastle this evening, said: “In my time at Barcelona, my time at Bayern Munich and now here, I never pushed the club to say I want those players when the club believes and says that the price is too much.

“I respect that decision and I move forward to look for another solution because the stability of the club is the most important thing.”

Guardiola has spent heavily in reshaping City’s squad since his arrival from Bayern Munich in July 2016. Last summer alone, he spent more than £200m on five players, with around £120m of that going on three full-backs, in Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Danilo.

Sanchez is set to join United on a four-and-a-half year deal (Getty)

He said: “We have spent a lot of money, I’m not denying it. The problem is we had to spend a lot to change the oldest squad in the Premier League. That doesn’t happen in one transfer window. We needed more time. Normally we try to be stable with the wages of the players because I think it is good for the team and stability of the club.

“Maybe in the future, more clubs will spend more than £100m on one player like some teams already have. I think the prices next summer will be higher than this winter.”

City remain stretched in attack, with Sergio Aguero their only fit senior centre forward as Gabriel Jesus continues to recover from medial knee ligament damage.

Guardiola, though, has no intention of trying to sign another out-and-out striker, saying that Raheem Sterling can move in from the wing if needed, as he did when City won 2-1 at Manchester United in December.

He said: “We have the two strikers and we do not need another one in that position. Other players can play there in different circumstances. To buy a striker who can only play there: that is not going to happen.

“Raheem can play there. He did at Old Trafford and in the United States in pre-season. He showed me that he can handle that pressure without problems. He’s more of a winger, a number 10, but we are not going to buy a striker.”