Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez is set to leave Inter Milan for free and move to French club Marseille, as confirmed by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Sanchez’s form and consistency plummeted after leaving Arsenal for rival Manchester United in January 2018, and he has yet to recover. He joins Marseille in the hopes of regaining some form and attracting top European clubs in the latter stages of his career.
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Alexis Sanchez’s Career So Far
Also known as El Niño Maravilla (The Wonder Child), Sanchez started his club career at the youth system of Chilean team C.D. Cobreloa, only to be promoted to the main team in February 2005.
After an impressive season with Zorros del Desierto, he joined Italian club Udinese in April 2006 for a fee of £1.7 million. He was immediately loaned back to South America to gain first-team experience, first with Colo-Colo and then with River Plate. With the former, he won his first professional title in the Torneo Clausura final against Audax Italiano, which his team won 3-2.
Following successful loan spells in Chile and Argentina, he made his first team debut for Udinese in a 1-0 loss to Juventus in September 2008. His first goal for the club came in a 1-0 win over Lecce in October 2008. He was also notable for his partnership with Italian striker Antonio di Natale, with whom he scored 39 goals in the 2010/11 season.
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His time at I Bianconeri piqued the interest of several of Europe’s elite clubs, and in July 2011, he signed for Catalunya club FC Barcelona for €26 million, becoming the club’s first Chilean player. His debut for the Blaugrana came in the Supercopa de Espana’s El Clasico, which Barcelona won 5-4 against Real Madrid. In the first match of the La Liga season, he scored his first goal for the club in a 5-0 win over Villareal. His accomplishments at Barcelona include scoring 21 goals in all competitions in the 2013/14 season, 19 of which came in La Liga, and winning the league title with a record 100 points in 2012/13.
In order to get more game time at the highest level, he signed with English club Arsenal for a deal worth around £31.7 million, making his debut in a pre-season Emirates Cup win against Benfica in August 2014. Sanchez spent four years with Arsenal, scoring 80 goals and 45 assists in 166 appearances as their mainstay winger, winning the FA Cup three times while scoring once, and being named Player of the Year once.
Sanchez left Arsenal in January 2018 in a swap deal with Manchester United for Armenian winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Due to injury issues and inconsistent performances, his time at Manchester United was limited to three goals in 32 league appearances in the 2018/19 season before being loaned out to Italian club Inter Milan.
His performances at the club during the 2019/20 season prompted the club to sign him to a permanent contract during the summer transfer window in 2020. He scored 16 goals in 79 appearances for the I Nerazzurri. His time at Inter was also marred by injuries and inconsistent performance, prompting the Italian club to terminate his contract in August 2022.
