Guardiola was never convinced about the merit of signing his former Barcelona favourite in the middle of the season. Yes, he wanted him badly last summer - making a £60 million bid for him.
And he'd have been over the moon to land him on a free transfer in June.
But the City boss had expressed his concerns over a January swoop privately to the Etihad hierarchy in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Guradiola feared Sanchez would unsettle his squad as Tino Asprilla did with Newcastle in 1996He had told chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak, chief exec Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain why he was not comfortable with the idea.
That the arrival of the temperamental Chilean on huge wages could put too many noses out of joint among his players at a vital stage of the season.
Making a high-profile signing when your team is romping away at the top of the table can be viewed as a statement - or the final piece of the jigsaw.
However it can also rock the boat - and unsettle a squad who have been outstanding for the first half of the season.Guardiola told Khaldoon al Mubarak he was not comfortable with signing Sanchez
Just ask Newcastle fans - who still have nightmares about the arrival of the enigmatic Colombian Tino Asprilla back in February 1996.
Or City supporters who remember Rodney Marsh pitching up at Maine Road from QPR in the spring of 1972.
Pep may not be aware of those examples - but he had made his feelings clear to the board in the late autumn.
His big preference was to wait until the summer before trying to integrate Sanchez into a squad that was already tearing up the Premier League.
Chairman Khaldoon was happy with that - it made good business sense as the Arsenal man would be a free transfer at the end of the season.
City were also privately still fuming with Arsenal for pulling the plug on their deal for Sanchez on transfer deadline day - and would love to
have seen the Gunners hit in the pocket.
But it wasn't the money side which particularly concerned Guardiola.
He told the board he had worries about what effect his arrival would have on the balance of a squad who will almost certainly win the Premier
League anyway.City are 12 points top of the Premier League
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus have all played their parts in City's breath-taking start to the
season.
One or more would have to make way for a senior player like Sanchez who would expect to start on a regular basis.
And then there's the bad-feeling that parachuting in a player mid-season as the club's top earner can have.
Kevin de Bruyne, Jesus, Sane and Sterling could all be in line for new deals over the coming weeks and months.Raheem Sterling is under fire
under Guardiola at Man City
Bringing in a player on north of £350,000 per week - more than £100,000 per week more than any other City player is on - could easily have
unsettled others.
That was Guardiola's view before Christmas - and that stance looked set in stone.
New Year's Eve was the day that almost changed their minds though.
Jesus hobbled off in tears during the first half of the goalless draw at Crystal Palace fearing a serious knee injury.Guardiola consoles Gabriel Jesus after the forward damaged his knee facing Palace
There were initial fears he could miss much of the rest of the season - leaving Pep with just Aguero as an out-and-out striker.
Last week though, the young Brazilian visited Pep's favoured specialist - Dr Ramon Cugat in Barcelona.
The news was good - he could be back playing by early February - and should certainly be ready for the resumption of the Champions League.
In the meantime, there had been internal meetings about whether to bring forward their plans to sign Sanchez.
As Sunsport told you in September, there was a reluctance at City to go any higher than £20 million for the Chilean.
Word got back to them that Arsenal were still looking for £35 million - while the demands of the player and his agent would have taken the
inital cost of the deal beyond £60 million.
The numbers didn't really stack up. So for City, it was back to Plan A.
