Martin Keown has ripped into Alexis Sanchez for his decision to join Manchester United

It's safe to say that Martin Keown would prefer Alexis Sanchez to go to Manchester City.

City were firm favourites to sign Sanchez at the beginning of the month due to the forward's previous relationship with manager Pep Guardiola. It was also believed that the fact that City have one hand on the Premier League trophy wasn't going to hurt their chances of getting Sanchez, who has made no secret of his desire to start winning titles. But then Manchester United elbowed their way into the deal with a significantly better offer for the Chile international. https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/954024714690793473 Some suggested that United had only thrown their hat in the ring in order to force their arch-rivals to spend more money but City walked away from the deal, unwilling to fork out the kind of money the Red Devils had offered. And while Gary Neville will argue that there was more to Sanchez's decision to move to Old Trafford than financial benefits, Gunners legend Martin Keown clearly doesn't agree. Keown has ripped into Sanchez for deciding to take the money and join a side which, according to the former defender, is less suited to his development. "Sanchez has got to be the biggest mercenary in football," Keown wrote in his Daily Mail column. "Manchester City have wanted to sign Sanchez since the summer and, if no deal is done in January, they will be waiting for him at the end of the season. "City would be the natural place for Sanchez to go to develop his football. He has worked with Pep Guardiola before. "But for Sanchez, this is clearly not about going to the best team, working with Guardiola and taking his game to another level. "He has probably thought that he will not get a better offer if he waits until the summer, so he might as well take the best deal on offer now. It has been all about the money."