39 Facts About Alexis Sanchez

1.

Alexis Alejandro Sanchez Sanchez, known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Chile national team.

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2.

Alexis Sanchez is often lauded as the greatest Chilean player of all time.

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3.

Alexis Sanchez was the subject of a record association football transfer when he signed for Barcelona in 2011 in a transfer worth €37.

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4.

Alexis Sanchez then joined Arsenal in 2014 in a transfer worth £31.

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5.

Alexis Sanchez made his senior international debut for Chile in 2006 at age 18, and has since earned 150 caps, appearing in eight major tournaments and becoming both his country's most capped player and all-time top goalscorer.

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6.

Alexis Sanchez led Chile to their first victory in a major tournament by winning the 2015 Copa America, scoring the winning penalty in the final; he captained the team to a repeat of this triumph at the Copa America Centenario, winning the Golden Ball for Best Player.

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7.

Alexis Sanchez had a brief step with a Universidad Catolica Academy based in Rancagua in 1999, being coached by the Chilean former international footballer Rene Valenzuela.

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8.

In February 2005, Alexis Sanchez was promoted to the senior first team by manager Nelson Acosta.

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9.

Alexis Sanchez played his first Copa Libertadores game against Once Caldas aged 16, which made him one of the youngest players on debut for the tournament.

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10.

In recognition of his achievements, Alexis Sanchez was named the world's most promising youngster of the 2011 season by the users of FIFA.

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11.

Alexis Sanchez ranked 56th in the May 2011 edition of Castrol Performance Index and 24th among the forwards.

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12.

Alexis Sanchez made his debut on 14 August 2011 against archrivals Real Madrid in the 2011 Supercopa de Espana first leg away match, suffering a thigh injury after a challenge by Marcelo.

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13.

On 10 July 2014, Alexis Sanchez signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract for a transfer fee of £31.

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14.

Alexis Sanchez was given the squad number 17, previously worn by Nacho Monreal, who took the vacant number 18 instead.

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15.

Alexis Sanchez was mobile, dangerous and has shown as well he has great fighting spirit, qualities that will be very important in the Premier League.

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16.

On 4 January 2015, Alexis Sanchez scored and assisted his first ever FA Cup goals as Arsenal knocked out Hull City, the previous season's runners-up in the third round.

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17.

Alexis Sanchez assisted Per Mertesacker and scored in the 82nd minute, being substituted two minutes later by Chuba Akpom.

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18.

Alexis Sanchez first assisted Laurent Koscielny and then scored two goals of his own.

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19.

Alexis Sanchez, who headed an assist for Theo Walcott's opening goal, became the first Chilean to score in an FA Cup final since Newcastle United's George Robledo in 1952.

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20.

Alexis Sanchez capped off his first season by winning Arsenal's Player of the Year award.

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21.

On 22 January 2018, it was announced that Alexis Sanchez had completed a transfer to Manchester United, in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move the opposite way.

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22.

Alexis Sanchez became the first Chilean to play a competitive match for United.

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23.

Alexis Sanchez said he did not regret signing for Manchester United, but did wish he had played more.

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24.

On 6 August 2020, Alexis Sanchez made the permanent switch to Inter, on a three-year deal, on a free transfer.

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25.

On 8 August 2022, Alexis Sanchez agreed to mutually terminate his contract with Inter Milan.

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26.

Alexis Sanchez made his international debut for the Chile national team against New Zealand on 27 April 2006.

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27.

Alexis Sanchez was called up by the coach Jose Sulantay to represent the Chilean under-20 team at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada, where they finished third.

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28.

Alexis Sanchez scored three times during La Roja's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and appeared on every match during the tournament finals.

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29.

Alexis Sanchez scored four times in Chile's qualification campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

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30.

Alexis Sanchez was a member of Chile's squad as they hosted the 2015 Copa America.

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31.

Alexis Sanchez was named man of the match in Chile's ill-tempered and highly controversial quarter-final win over defending champions Uruguay.

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32.

In June 2016, Alexis Sanchez was part of the Chile squad that defended their Copa America title at the Copa America Centenario in the United States.

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33.

Alexis Sanchez was involved in Chile's second goal when his shot rebounded off the inside of the post and across the goal, presenting a tap-in for Jose Pedro Fuenzalida.

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34.

Alexis Sanchez was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

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35.

Alexis Sanchez was injured in October 2019 while on international duty with Chile.

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36.

Alexis Sanchez was set to miss Copa America group stage matches after suffering a foot injury in training.

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37.

Alexis Sanchez is a quick, creative, intelligent and hard-working player with an eye for goal, who is known in particular for his energy, strength, skill and work-rate on the pitch.

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38.

Talented forward, Alexis Sanchez is gifted with remarkable dribbling skills, flair, finishing, vision and acceleration, which enables him to successfully take on opponents with feints in one on one situations, create space, and either score goals himself or set-up his teammates from through balls, long-range passes and perceptive one-twos.

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39.

Alexis Sanchez had a statue erected in his honour within his native town of Tocopilla in March 2017.

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