Manchester United have paid a stunning £9 MILLION to Alexis Sanchez to help smooth a move to Inter Milan this week.

The Daily Mail says United have had to fork out £9m to Sanchez by way of compensation to mutually terminate his contract.

The Chilean forward's deal at Old Trafford was ripped up on Wednesday, paving the way for him to complete a free transfer to Inter Milan less than 24 hours later.

Sanchez still had two years left to run on his mega £560k-per-week contract but United took the option to cut ties with the 31-year-old in order to get him off the wage bill.

United are actually happy with the outcome, as Sanchez would have earned almost five times his settlement figure had he stayed on the books.