Manchester City pulled out of plans to sign Alexis Sanchez over locker room politics, it has been revealed.

City were regarded as favourites to land the Arsenal attacker, though the Chile international is now set to move to Manchester United.

The Times says the breaking point for City was Alexis' personal demands. The striker wants a salary of over £20m, which would make him the highest paid player in English football history.

The problem facing City was Kevin de Bruyne and his new contract negotiations. There were concerns De Bruyne and several other senior City players would immediately be demanding pay increases to fall in line with Alexis' record salary.