Alexis Sanchez reflects on failed Man City move, praises Guardiola

Alexis Sanchez has recently shared his belief that he would have triumphed in the UEFA Champions League if he had joined Manchester City instead of Manchester United back in 2018.

Sanchez first came to England in 2014 after a standout performance at the FIFA World Cup and soon became one of the Premier League’s most exceptional players while playing for Arsenal.

However, in the summer of 2017, with one year left on his contract, he decided to leave.

He was heavily linked with a move to join ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but the deal ultimately fell through due to Arsenal’s inability to replace him. Manchester City again pursued him in the January window but ultimately lost out to Manchester United in securing the transfer deal.

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In an interview with TVN, Chile’s public broadcaster, Sanchez discussed this transfer saga.

“I was about to go to City. I spoke to Guardiola every day, he told me happy birthday. He was like my dad, He was my dad at Barcelona and he was like my dad at City,” Sanchez began.

“We talked, we talked every day, he sent me messages. And everything was ready, there was a player who was going to go to Arsenal.

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Then [Arsene] Wenger tells me you are not leaving because the other player did not want to come and they do not have another.

“Suddenly, the cell phone rings. [Jose] Mourinho tells me: ‘Alexis, here is the [number] seven available for you’.

“It wasn’t a money thing, so everyone knows. It was the same with United and City. And he said to me ‘here is the seven, we are playing in the Champions League and we are going to give everything’. I wanted to leave at that moment, but I had Guardiola’s word.

“That’s when I said to myself, a Chilean footballer playing for Manchester United, something that has never happened. With the seven of [Eric] Cantona, [David] Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and now a Chilean had it, it was a dream.

“I don’t regret going to United, things happen for a reason. I would have liked to have gone to City, yes. We would have won the Champions League by now. In the final, I would have done something.“