Sanchez earning more than it cost to rebuild his hometown 

They are running out of wall space in Alexis Sanchez’s home town of Tocopilla.

First came the mural of him in all his South American club shirts through to River Plate and on to him wearing Udinese and Barcelona colours.

Then in 2013 local artists added a new mural of his first No 17 shirt at Arsenal on the four-block tourist route around the house where he grew up. 

Alexis Sanchez will make almost £600,000-a-week after signing for Manchester United

Young Sanchez  in his home town of Tocopilla — he has been valued at more than the city itself

Young Sanchez in his home town of Tocopilla — he has been valued at more than the city itself

Now it will not be long before the image of Sanchez in the Manchester United No 7 shirt will feature on a new wall — just as soon as someone can find the right spot.

At least the three-metre high statue unveiled last March is of him in his red Chile shirt and will not need a new coat of paint.

There is a strange mix of pride and stupefaction at Sanchez becoming Manchester United’s highest-paid player this week.

When he got his first big move, from Udinese to Barcelona in 2011, the transfer fee with add-ons was £33million. It did not go unnoticed that the sum worked out at more than had been spent to rebuild Tocopilla after it was hit by an earthquake in 2007. He was now worth more than the city in which he grew up. 

The future footballing superstar in his early days with the Arauco de Tocopilla youth team

The future footballing superstar in his early days with the Arauco de Tocopilla youth team

Sanchez during his time playing for Arouca

Alexis Sanchez of Manchester United poses after signing for the club

Sanchez has done his bit to make sure the young footballers have better facilities than he did

Sanchez has not become any cheaper and now it is his salary of almost £30m, rather than his transfer fee, that is more than it took to rebuild his home town.

Local historian and teacher Damir Galaz says that in some ways Sanchez’s rise has made him a bad example to the young boys of Tocopilla because they look at their idol and imagine there is no need to study, just make it as a footballer and they will escape the grind of working in the city’s docks, mines or power plant.

Sanchez, to his credit, has done his bit to make sure the young footballers have better facilities than he did as they pursue dreams to emulate him.

At his old club, Arauco de Tocopilla, there are now four new floodlit plastic pitches. It was there he used to win games single-handedly as a young player and was nicknamed ‘Squirrel’ because of his ability to retrieve any ball lost while playing a street game, no matter how high the tree or rooftop on which it had become stuck. 

The formal Arsenal man, his country'stop scorer, is idolised by youngsters in his country

The formal Arsenal man, his country’stop scorer, is idolised by youngsters in his country

There is an annual ‘Playing for a Dream’ tournament in Tocopilla too. It has big-money sponsorship and is in its fourth year. 

Sanchez was at the opening ceremony in 2017 with his dogs Atom and Humber, mobbed by the 250 kids taking part. 

He stayed to award the prizes to the winning team, jokingly asking the boys on stage: ‘What player would you rather end up being like: Cristiano, Messi or Alexis?’ before grinning back at the crowd.

Media attention quadruples whenever he is in town, which leaves some resentful of the way the television crews were much slower to arrive from the capital city of Santiago 900 miles away when pollution levels hit such highs that cancer rates were notably above national averages or even when the earthquake devastated the region.

The town of Tocopilla, Chile, is seen a day after a devastating earthquake in 2007

The town of Tocopilla, Chile, is seen a day after a devastating earthquake in 2007

The Premier League star poses with his adoring fans during a return visit to the coastal city

The Premier League star poses with his adoring fans during a return visit to the coastal city

The school where Alexis frequently had to be excused for days at a time to play matches or go on trials at club such as Colo-Colo, who famously turned him down at 13, was closed down after sustaining considerable damage in that earthquake. 

Manchester United’s new signing has always done his best to strike a balance between embracing his new wealth and not flashing his money under the noses of his old neighbours.

He has never moved his mother Martina Sanchez out of her old house on Calle Orella de Tocopilla in the Cuarta Poniente neighbourhood of the city.

He respected her wishes to stay in the family home despite the fact that it had now turned into a magnet for tourists who flocked to catch a glimpse of Sanchez drawing the curtains on one of his home visits. 

A mural honouring Sanchez's journey from poverty to one of Chile's greatest players

A mural honouring Sanchez’s journey from poverty to one of Chile’s greatest players

HOW SANCHEZ NETS £600,000-A-WEEK 

Basic weekly wage: £350,000. 

This is the highest basic wage of any player in the Premier League. Manchester United have four of the top six earners in terms of basic weekly wage with Paul Pogba on £290,000, Romelu Lukaku on £250,000 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on £220,000. Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure also earn £220,000.

Image rights: £100,000 a week

Bonuses: £144,000 a week

The house has been renovated and extended in all directions and it is where he has stayed on his frequent trips back home. 

He has since acquired more property in Chile. 

He was looking at a £2m summer home for his mother in 2016 in a health spa region 60 miles from Tocopilla and he was rumoured to have bought a £5m mansion just outside Santiago last year.

For most locals it is hard to begrudge him his riches. 

They remember the little boy who used to clean cars and juggle a beaten-up old football for small change outside the city cemetery.

Now there is a street named after him in the city centre and he is the highest-paid player in the richest league in the world.

A statue in Tocopilla pays tribute to the forward's club and international career

A statue in Tocopilla pays tribute to the forward’s club and international career



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