Former Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez states that he wanted to leave United after just ONE training
- Sanchez, who switched from United to Inter Milan this summer, has opened of the nightmare he experienced at Old Trafford
- The Chilean states that he wanted to move back to Arsenal after just one training
- In the video rant, he goes on to state of his desire to move to Manchester City as well as the agony of being benched by Jose Mourinho
- Mental Health and Psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Alexis Sanchez has blasted his former side, Manchester United.
The Chilean has admitted that he wanted to move back to Arsenal after just one training session at Manchester United.
The Chilean endured a nightmare spell at Old Trafford, despite the Red Devils paying him up to £560,000-a-week. He scored just five goals in 45 matches before moving to Inter Milan on loan for the 2019-20 season, a move which he made permanent last summer.
The former Arsenal lethal forward indicated that a transfer to Manchester City did not materialize before he moved to United and admitted that he asked to move back to Arsenal after just one day under Jose Mourinho.
The 31-year old said:
‘I want to tell you about my period at United, about many things that were said and that made me look bad.
‘I got the opportunity to go to United and it seemed tempting to me. It was something nice for me, because when I was a kid I liked that club a lot.
‘I ended up signing without much information about what was happening in the move. The first days that I was with my colleagues, sometimes there are things that you do not realise until you arrive.
‘The first training I had I realised many things. I came home and I told my representative: “Can’t the contract be terminated to return to Arsenal?”
They start laughing and I told them that something did not sit right with me. It had already been signed.’
Sanchez recalled one moment at Manchester United when he was left out of the matchday squad by Mourinho for a game against West Ham in September 2018.
It was an incredible fall from grace for the Chilean winger, who just nine months ago was one of the most dangerous attacking players in England’s top flight while at Arsenal.
The Chilean said: ‘In a game with West Ham I wasn’t picked. 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.’
Manchester United lost the West Ham game 3-1 and Mourinho was sacked just months later with the Red Devils languishing in mid-table. Sanchez then took the opportunity to speak to his successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, about a move away.
Sanchez added: ‘Then the next coach arrived, the current one, and I decided to talk to him. I told him that I needed to take a breather, and the opportunity to go to Inter. He told me that yes, there was no problem.’
The winger scored 80 goals in 166 matches at Arsenal before moving to Old Trafford in a swap for Henrikh Mhkitaryan in January 2018, a blockbuster move that was announced in a now infamous social media video of him apparently playing ‘Glory Glory Man United’ on the piano.
