On The Ball | Alexis Sanchez ends his unhappy time at Manchester United – a lesson in the perils of excess, expense and appeasement
- Sanchez officially ends his stay at Old Trafford where so much was hoped for him, but so little delivered
- The Chilean will attempt to rehabilitate his career in Milan
A couple of days after he had signed for Manchester United, my seven years old, football mad nephew spotted Alexis Sanchez in a restaurant near Manchester Airport. The Chilean stood out, not because of his famous face, but also because he was the only other person there. Small talk and photos ensued. Sanchez spoke in faltering English but the one point he wanted to make to my brother was that he only wanted to join United and not City. He was a fully-formed player who was expected to be an Eric Cantona-style match winner, one who had turned City down. The ingredients promised much.
Pep Guardiola had wanted to sign the man he took from Udine to Barcelona, but City balked at the vast wage demands. Those demands would become United’s problem because other United players used them as a yardstick, but Sanchez was unanimously welcomed by fans when he signed and played “Glory Glory Man United” on a piano in January 2018, a happy month for United in which Jose Mourinho was seen to be doing so well that he signed an extended contract.
Month by month, 2018 would turn into a horrible year for United and Sanchez was sucked into that maelstrom of shifting styles, none of which suited his game. Had he signed in 2011 when United wanted him and were prepared to pay €35 million, things would likely have worked out as the club remained stable under Alex Ferguson. But instead Sanchez went for his first choice, Barca, (United were second, City third) and he had a decent time at Camp Nou where his job description could be described as “give the ball to Messi”.
A success at Barca and Arsenal, Sanchez was not for United, though he had his moments. A winner in a comeback at home to Newcastle, a header in the FA Cup semi-final. Each was supposed to herald the appearance of the real Sanchez.
They didn’t, but he didn’t help himself. Complaining that a fridge opened onto his legs in the dressing room brought ridicule. He was offered the chance to do some media and I was lined up to speak to him in Spanish on the US preseason tour of 2018. He pulled back and was the only player not to do some form of media. He wanted the money but little of the off-field responsibility that came with being a senior player. Stuff like this matters less when you’re playing well, but it means more when you’re not.
