Alexis Sanchez has pledged his support for Belgium in the World Cup this summer because of his ever-growing friendship with Manchester United attacking team-mate Romelu Lukaku.

The Chilean has struggled make an impact since his arrival in the January transfer window which sparked rumours suggesting he’s struggling to fit in with his new team, but the bond between himself and Lukaku would appear to be as strong as any other amongst the squad.

Whilst Alexis was under-performing in the second half of the 2017-18 season, the Belgian striker was going in the opposite direction as he tallied up a total of 27 goals in his debut campaign at Man United.

And now he’s received strong backing from Alexis, who has praised his form in front of goal and revealed how close the two players actually are off the field.

“I want Belgium to win the World Cup, for my friend Lukaku. We’re very close friends, we always talk and go out for dinner in England. We have a great friendship,” he told Fox Sports.

“He’s sharp, he’s on fire and I hope he wins the Golden Boot. We get on very well, we go everywhere together. We talk about the team a lot to be able to improve it.”

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Alexis has been forced to watch the World Cup in Russia on his TV this summer following Chile’s failure to qualify, but United fans will be hoping the break has given him enough time to show what he’s truly capable at Old Trafford once the 2018-19 season gets underway.