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Alexis Sánchez has revealed that he asked his agent if he could leave Manchester United and return to Arsenal after just one training session.
The 31-year-old took to Instagram on Thursday night to tell his side of the story about his failed transfer to Old Trafford in 2018, in which Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved in the opposite direction and joined Arsenal.
Sánchez endured a torrid spell at United and never managed to find real form in his two years at the club. He scored just five goals in 45 appearances before being loaned out to Inter Milan for the 2019/20 season, a move he made permanent throughout the summer.
“I want to tell you about my time at United, about many things that were said and that made me look bad,” said Sánchez.
“I had 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 really liked that club.
“I ended up signing without much information about what was going on in the move. The first few days that I was with my colleagues, sometimes there are things that you don’t realize until you arrive.
“The first training I had I realized many things. I got home and said to my manager: ‘Can’t the contract be terminated to go back to Arsenal?’
“They laughed and I told them that something was wrong with me. (The contract) was already signed. “
Sánchez arrived at United in the January transfer window with high expectations on his shoulders, even more so after becoming the club’s main winner, and he feels like he became the scapegoat for the team’s failure.
“I tell you my experience, journalists sometimes spoke without knowing the facts and it hurt, they had no idea what was happening inside the club,” said Sánchez.
“They said it was my fault, and this and that, but sometimes a player depends on the environment, on the family that is created around him, and I think that at that time we were not really a family.
“And that translated into the field, and since there had to be someone to blame, they blamed me.”
Sánchez recalled a time at United when manager José Mourinho cut him off the team of the day for a game against West Ham in September 2018.
It was a huge fall from grace for the forward, who earlier that year was regarded as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the Premier League while at Arsenal.
“In a game with West Ham I was not chosen. That had never happened to me as a player. It bothered me and I said it couldn’t be possible, ”said Sánchez, who scored 80 goals in 166 games for the Gunners.
“Going 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 double shift, because I love what I do ”.
United lost to West Ham 3-1 and Mourinho was sacked a few months later with the Red Devils languishing in the middle of the table. Sánchez then took the opportunity to speak with his successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, about leaving the club.
“Then the next coach arrived, the current one, and I decided to talk to him. I told him I needed a break and the opportunity to go to Inter. He said yes, that there was no problem, ”said Sánchez.
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