Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez hot on tail of canine-loving Chilean actress Mayte Rodriguez
WOMANISING Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez has been linked to a glamorous Chilean actress who recently split from her long-time boyfriend.
The frontman who scored a dramatic late winner for Arsenal yesterday, has started tongues wagging in his homeland after chatting up pretty blonde Mayte Rodriguez.
The 27-year-old, who once starred in a TV soap about a sexologist, announced last month she was single again after her break-up from her actor partner of more than five years.
Ladies’ men Alexis, dumped by an ex after she caught two of his best friends filming them writhing under his bedsheets, sent the Likes from his official Instagram account.
The Arsenal star, a renowned animal lover who frequently shares pictures with his golden retrievers, sent one Like to a photo Mayte posted of her pet dog.
Another was sent to a picture of her in a figure-hugging black dress.
A third picture of Mayte with her four-legged companion which the Premier League star is said to have sent a Like to has been taken down from her Instagram.
Fans who have seized on the photos as evidence Alexis is on the prowl again have highlighted the fact the Likes were sent around the time Mayte and her boyfriend Tiago Correa are believed to have finished their relationship, even thought the actress only confirmed the split last month.
The footballer and Mayte, who made her TV debut aged just 12, are even rumoured to have enjoyed a romantic break on the Mexican Riviera, although neither has commented on the claims made by local media.
Mayte’s ex has been dragged into the latest pillow talk involving the much-loved Gunner, currently believed to be trying to negotiate a new £250,000-a-week contract deal at the Emirates.
He has insisted there is no “close friendship” between Alexis, 28, and Mayte but his claims have failed to dampen speculation about the pair.
The Arsenal striker’s reputation as a Don Juan has seen him named as the lover of a list of women including former gymnast-turned-TV dancer Valentina Roth and Brazilian model Michelle Carvalho.
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Valentina, 26, told the Sun during the player’s first season for Arsenal how she dumped him after catching two of his pals videoing them having sex from his bedroom closet during a tryst at his home in the Chilean capital Santiago.
She accused Alexis - nicknamed ‘Nino Maravilla’ or 'Boy Wonder’ in his native Chile - of helping to plan the sick stunt.
Brunette Michelle has admitted to a “brief but intense affair” with the footballer and claimed he has “an obsession with blondes.” His Spanish ex-girlfriend Laia Grassi deleted every Instagram photo of the footballer less than three weeks after he was accused of texting former Miss Chile Camila Andrade behind her back.
Former flame Mary Plaza, an English teacher in Barcelona, told a Spanish newspaper she was pregnant with his child in July 2014 while she was six months pregnant and Alexis was still dating art director Laia.
She has not made any further public comments since having her child.
Chilean TV journalist Ale Valle said: “I was told by different sources Alexis and Mayte met each other a while back and he was bowled off his feet.
“Mayte is beautiful. He wouldn’t be the first man who’s fallen head over heels in love at the sight of her.”· A source close to the footballer’s circle of friends in Chile added: “They have a lot of friends in common and have been out together.”
But Chilean TV commentator Claudia Schmitd said: “I know Alexis a little and can assure you he likes dogs more than women.
“When he sent his Likes to Mayte’s Instagram page, he was indicating that he liked her pet and not her.
“The only thing they’ve got in common is that they’re both animal lovers.” Alexis revealed last month how his dogs Atom and Humber got their names.
He told Atom was named after a character from the Hugh Jackman film Real Steel and Humber got his name because he reminded him of his “sweet guy” brother Humberto.
His affection for the duo is so well known that Arsenal fan group REDaction Gooners are planning to create a banner which includes Sanchez and his two pets.