"Can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?” - When Alexis Sanchez admitted he wanted Manchester United exit after first training session

Alexis Sanchez once admitted to wanting to leave Manchester United and return to Arsenal after just his first training session at the club. In a candid confession made years after his high-profile transfer, the Chilean forward revealed that he was so disillusioned with his new surroundings that he immediately asked his family and agent if he could cancel his contract and go back to Arsenal.

Alexis Sanchez made a high-profile move to Manchester United in 2018 in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal. Prior to his move to Old Trafford, the Chilean was Arsenal’s talismanic figure, where his electrifying performances endeared him to the Gunners faithful and made him one of the league’s best players at the time.

The move from Arsenal to Manchester United in January 2018 was supposed to be a dream come true for Sanchez. However, the reality of the striker's time at Manchester United was far from what either the player or the club had anticipated.

Despite being handed the iconic number 7 shirt, a jersey worn by some of the club’s greatest legends, Sanchez struggled to replicate the form that had made him a star at Arsenal.

However, in a surprising statement after his departure from the club, Sanchez admitted that he had misgivings about the move almost immediately. He said in a video posted on his Instagram in 2020 (via The Guardian):

‘’I accepted the opportunity to go to United, it felt tempting and it was something good for me. 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 realize until you get there, and I remember the first training session I had. I realized 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's something that doesn't sit right; it doesn't seem good. But I 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."

In the same video, he also talked about how Jose Mourinho, who was Manchester United's coach at the time, left him out of a matchday squad against West Ham in 2018. However, he thanked United for the opportunity they gave him to defend the club’s badge.

Alexis Sanchez moved from Manchester United to Inter Milan in 2020 on a free transfer. In his two years at Old Trafford, he scored five goals and provided nine assists in 45 appearances across competitions.

Ex-Arsenal and Manchester United player Alexis Sanchez is open to rejoining his former club - Reports

Alexis Sanchez is reportedly considering making a move to one of his former clubs, Udinese, as a free agent. As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Udinese have sent a formal contract proposal to Sanchez to bring him back to the club. The Chilean became a free agent after his contact with Inter Milan expired in June.

Sanchez, 35, plied his trade in at Udinese between 2007 and 2011 before joining Spanish giants Barcelona. According to Mirror, Sanchez had contacted Mikel Arteta about a possible return to the Emirates. But with Udinese being interested in him, the Chilean is considering the offer and could make a return to the Italian side.

While Alexis Sanchez didn’t win silverware in his first stint at the club, he scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists in 112 appearances across competitions.