Manchester United player denied US visa over tax fraud
Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the United States will see them miss the services of Alexis Sanchez after he was denied entry to the country due to his tax problems in Spain.
The 29-year-old joined the Red Devils from Arsenal last year in a deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to the Emirates Stadium in January.
However, the Chilean forward was handed a 16-month suspended jail sentence in February for evading tax while he was a Barcelona player in Spain.
Manchester United flew to US on Sunday but Alexis was missing from the travelling party, with United saying that he did not travel due to ‘personal administrative issues’.
According to the Daily Mail, Sanchez had pleaded guilty to ‘illegally defrauding the Spanish treasury of Sh116 million (£885,000) when he was a Barcelona player.
PRISON SENTENCE
Sanchez came to an agreement that saw him plead guilty and accept the prison sentence that he would not have to serve as it was under two years.
The Chilean forward still remains remains hopeful of being granted a waiver so he can join his teammates for pre-season Sanchez and his lawyer, Ruben Inostroza Povea, have been in talks with American officials and the US embassy in a bid to resolve the issue.
United do not know when a decision will be made on Sanchez’s visa situation, but he is likely to miss the opening friendly and with their next game against MLS side San Jose coming just two days late, he faces a race against time to get his pre-season up and running.
Manchester United, meanwhile, continue to pay him Sh65 million (£500,000) per week.