LOS ANGELES — Alexis Sanchez was not on Manchester United’s flight to the United States because of difficulties getting a travel visa, sources have told ESPN FC.
The Chilean was not part of the 24-man squad that departed for Los Angeles on Sunday evening, instead staying behind in Manchester.
The problem could be related to a conviction for tax fraud that Sanchez accepted in February, in which the forward accepted a 16-month suspended jail sentence in a deal with prosectors that saw him avoid spending any time in prison.
Sanchez faced going to trial in Spain over unpaid taxes of around €1 million relating to image rights deals between 2012 and 2013 when he was playing for Barcelona.
Despite the conviction, he has maintained throughout that he has done nothing wrong and “fully obeyed” laws surrounding such agreements.
Sanchez returned to Manchester on Tuesday accompanied by his lawyer Ruben Inostroza Povea. They were together in Cheshire on Sunday while the rest of the squad flew to the U.S.
Sources said Sanchez is hopeful of clearing up the issue in the coming days and should be free to join Jose Mourinho and the rest of the squad in Los Angeles this week.
United are training at UCLA before kicking off their summer tour with a game against Club America in Phoenix on Thursday.
Daley Blind was the only other notable absentee from the squad that flew to America as the Dutchman gets closer to sealing a return to Ajax in a deal that, according to sources, will net United £14.1 million, possibly rising to £18.5 million with add-ons.
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