Official: Udinese announce Alexis Sanchez return | OneFootball

Udinese have officially announced the signing of former Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez, who joins as a free agent after the recent expiry of his contract with reigning Serie A champions, Inter.

The club have confirmed that the 35-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year contract, which will run until June 30, 2026.

“Here is where he became a champion, here is where he found the love of the region, here where the legend began: El Niño Maravilla is back among us, El Niño Maravilla is once again a Bianconeri player,” the club wrote in an statement on the club website.

Back to where it all began for Alexis Sanchez

It’s back to where it all started for Sanchez, who began his career in European football with Udinese all the way back in 2008, having officially signed for the club two years earlier.

From Udinese, he would go on to join Barcelona under Pep Guardiola in 2011, where he scored 39 league goals from 88 appearances and also lifted the 2012-13 LaLiga title, as well as the Copa Del Rey, Supercopa de Espana and the UEFA Super Cup.

He then joined Arsenal in the summer of 2014, at a cost of around €37m (£31.7m). In North London, he established himself as one of the Premier League’s hottest prospects, netting just shy of a goal every other game in the league, with an eventual tally of 60 from 122.

A high-profile swap-deal involving current Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally went through in January, 2018.

Sanchez did not enjoy quite as much success at Old Trafford as he did at The Emirates, but Inter were able to offer him an escape route after just 18 months.

Joining on loan for the 2019-20 season, before signing permanently the year following, Sanchez lifted the Serie A trophy in his second season at San Siro, which was his first under Simone Inzaghi.

Since then, Sanchez has left Inter and joined again, netting 14 Ligue 1 goals in 35 run-outs while with Marseille in 2022-23, before signing a one-year deal back in San Siro for the season just gone.

With that deal now over, Sanchez has been free to negotiate with any clubs as a free agent, and has decided to join his first European club, Udinese.

It has been 13 years since the two-time Copa America winner last turned out for the Bianconeri.