Alexis Sanchez joined Manchester United from Arsenal in January 2018, but his time at Old Trafford was nothing short of a disaster, and he has since revealed he wanted to call it quits after a single day
Alexis Sanchez of Manchester United reacts during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final second leg match between FC Barcelona and Manchester United
Alexis Sanchez instantly regretted his move from Arsenal to Manchester United
(Image: Getty)
Alexis Sanchez has confessed that he was willing to tear up his Manchester United contract to rejoin Arsenal following just one training session with the Red Devils.
The Chilean forward spent three-and-a-half seasons in north London and accumulated an outstanding 80 goals and 44 assists across 160 appearances for the Gunners.
After establishing himself amongst the Premier League's elite following a three-year spell at Barcelona, where he claimed every major honour except the Champions League, then-United manager Jose Mourinho came knocking in 2018.
In an unusual transfer arrangement, United and Arsenal, who meet on Sunday in their opening Premier League fixture of the campaign, agreed to complete an exchange deal, with Sanchez heading to Manchester whilst Henrikh Mkhitaryan travelled in the reverse direction during January 2018.
Before the transfer was finalised, Sanchez had found the net seven times in 19 league outings, a comparatively sluggish beginning for the winger, considering he had struck 24 goals the previous campaign.
In a catastrophic decline in performance, Sanchez managed just two additional league strikes for the remainder of the season. He concluded his opening six months as a Red Devil with three goals across 18 matches in all competitions, reports the Mirror.
Jose Mourinho points out instructions to Alexis Sanchez while the latter drinks from a bottle at the edge of the Old Trafford pitch.
Sanchez struggled under Mourinho at Old Trafford(Image: Getty)
Speaking in 2020, Sanchez acknowledged he was initially optimistic about joining United but those feelings were quickly extinguished after merely one training session.
"I accepted the opportunity to go to United, it felt tempting, and it was something good for me," he said. "I liked this club a lot when I was a kid. Eventually, I signed, but I didn't ask for information on what was happening inside the club.
"Sometimes there are things that you don't realise until you get there, and I remember the first training session I had, I realised a lot of things. After the session I got home and I told my family and my agent, 'Can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?'
"They laughed. I told them there was something that didn't sit right, it didn't seem good. But I had already signed; I was already there. After the first few months, I carried on having the same feeling. We weren't united as a team in that moment."
Sanchez's second campaign at United, which proved to be his final one, was considerably more disappointing than his inaugural season. He netted merely one league goal across 20 appearances and found himself relegated to substitute duties for the majority of the term.
Following his omission from the travelling squad for an away fixture against West Ham, Sanchez revealed that Mourinho's choice to sideline him severely damaged his self-belief.
"In a game with West Ham, I wasn't picked," Sanchez continued. "That had never happened to me as a player. It bothered me, and I said it couldn't be possible. To go from being one of the best in the Premier League to not playing in five months. I came to my house, and I was very sad. The next day, I trained in a double shift because I love what I do."
United bosses decided to end the unsuccessful venture, loaning Sanchez to Inter Milan-,Manchester%20United%20manager%20Ole%20Gunnar%20Solskjaer%20has%20confirmed%20that%20Alexis,permanently%20to%20join%20Inter%20Milan.&text=Sanchez%20joined%20the%20Serie%20A,following%20his%20switch%20to%20Italy.) in 2019 before he made a permanent move the following year. He later played for Marseille before making a brief return to Inter in 2023. He then secured a move back to Udinese, his first European club after departing from his home country.