Alexis Sánchez Reveals He Wanted Arsenal Return After First Manchester United Training Session
Ex-Arsenal star admits he wanted to tear up his Manchester United contract after his very first training session, revealing why his Old Trafford dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
Former Manchester United forward Alexis Sánchez has admitted that he was ready to tear up his contract and head back to Arsenal after just one training session with the Red Devils. The Chilean superstar, who arrived at Old Trafford in January 2018 in a high-profile swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, described his time at United as one of the most difficult chapters of his career.
Sánchez joined United after three and a half successful years at Arsenal, where he became a fan favourite and one of the Premier League’s best attackers. During his time with the Gunners, he scored 80 goals and provided 44 assists in 160 games, dazzling fans with his energy, flair, and determination. Before that, he had spent three years at Barcelona, winning multiple trophies but never quite securing the Champions League medal he craved.
By 2018, Manchester United, then managed by José Mourinho, swooped in with an offer. Arsenal, who were struggling to keep hold of their star forward, agreed to a rare direct swap deal, sending Sánchez to Old Trafford while Mkhitaryan headed to the Emirates. At the time, it was billed as one of the most exciting transfers of the season.
A Dream Move Turns Sour
Despite the excitement surrounding the transfer, Sánchez’s United career went downhill almost immediately. In a candid interview in 2020, the forward revealed that his doubts began on day one.
“I accepted the opportunity to go to United, it felt tempting, and it was something good for me,” Sánchez 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.”
Sánchez’s first six months in Manchester were disappointing. Having scored seven goals in 19 league games for Arsenal before his move, he managed only three goals in 18 matches for United across all competitions by the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Confidence Shattered Under Mourinho
Things went from bad to worse in his second season. Sánchez found himself in and out of the team, struggling with form and fitness. He scored just one Premier League goal in 20 appearances during the 2018/19 campaign and became more of a spectator than a key player.
The low point came when Mourinho dropped him for an away trip to West Ham after he failed to score in the opening six league games. For a player who had once been regarded as one of the best in England, the demotion was a bitter pill to swallow.
“In a game with West Ham, I wasn’t picked,” Sánchez recalled. “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.”
But no matter how hard he worked, Sánchez could not rediscover the magic that once made him one of the league’s deadliest forwards.
The End of a Failed Experiment
By the summer of 2019, United had seen enough. The club decided to send Sánchez on loan to Inter Milan, where he quickly showed glimpses of his old self. That loan move was made permanent in 2020, officially ending one of the most high-profile but disappointing transfers in United’s history.
At Inter, Sánchez contributed to their Serie A title win under Antonio Conte, reminding fans of the quality he still possessed when fit and motivated. He later moved on to Marseille in France before returning briefly to Inter in 2023. Now, in the final stages of his career, Sánchez has gone full circle, signing for Udinese — the first European club he joined after leaving Chile.
