Former Arsenal and Man Utd forward returns to old club 13 years after leaving

Former Arsenal and Man Utd forward Alexis Sanchez returned to Italian side Udinese after 13 years away from the club.

Now 35 years old, Sanchez played 33 times across all competitions for Inter last season, scoring four times and helping the club win the Serie A title, before departing at the end of his contract.

That came after a successful year in France with Marseille — who he joined from Inter for one season — scoring 18 times in 44 appearances across all competitions.

Sanchez last played for Udinese between 2006 and 2011, scoring 21 goals in 112 games across all competitions, and rejoins the club on a two-year deal. Udinese won just six of their 38 Serie A games last season, but picked up 19 draws to help them finish 15th on 37 points, two points clear of relegation.

A L E X I S 7??

???? #ForzaUdinese #AlèUdin #Udinese #Sanchez pic.twitter.com/aul8N04bko

— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) August 10, 2024

A 166-time Chile international, Sanchez left Udinese in 2011 for Barcelona and won multiple honours with the Blaugrana — including the 2012/13 La Liga title — during a 141-game, 47-goal spell before joining Arsenal in 2014.

At the Emirates, Sanchez would score 80 goals in 166 appearances, winning two FA Cups and a Community Shield, before leaving for a more modest spell at Manchester United between January 2018 and the summer of 2019.

Sanchez is Udinese’s seventh signing of the summer transfer window, alongside Lorenzo Lucca, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, Damian Pizarro, Jesper Karlstrom, Iker Bravo and Goncalo Esteves.