The greatest stage for showman Alexis

28/01/2018 08:50, Report by Steve BartramWith so much focus given to the finances behind Alexis Sanchez’s transfer to Manchester United, the key to the move was reflected in a different set of numbers.

In purely arithmetical terms, the signing of Alexis Sanchez was, frankly, stupefying. Even in the age of bigness, and given only the most cursory scrutiny, the numbers are nothing short of eye-watering.

Within 24 hours, over 20 million people had witnessed his piano tinkling video, #Alexis7 had become the world's most-used Twitter hashtag, a new record for 'likes' of a single post was set on the club's Instagram post and ManUtd.com had its most-read article of the season so far. For greater…