The former Arsenal forward has no regrets about leaving north London, but failed to find a place to truly belong in Italy
Alexis Sanchez doesn't regret leaving Arsenal for Manchester United, but felt like a "caged animal" at Inter Milan. Two of the Chilean's former clubs will face off in the Champions League on Tuesday night as Mikel Arteta's side visits the San Siro with the aim of extending their lead at the top.
Sanchez won major honours with both clubs, including two FA Cups with the Gunners and every domestic trophy available with Inter. The 37-year-old spent four seasons in north London, scoring 80 goals and assisting 44 times in 166 appearances before moving on to Old Trafford.
At the time, Sanchez felt no shame in swapping one Premier League giant for another as he felt he would be more successful in Manchester. The forward told BBC Sport: "I'm very happy I went to Manchester United. It's the club that's won the most in England.
"When I went to Arsenal, it was fantastic, I was happy there, but United were growing at the time, they were buying players to win something. I wanted to join them and win everything. I don't regret going there."
However, his time at United didn't work out the way he would've hoped. Sanchez added: "I think that I'm happy when I play for my national team. I was happy at Manchester United too, but I've always said to my friends I want to play.
"If they would let me play, I'll do my best. Sometimes I'd play 60 minutes, then I wouldn't play the next game - and I didn't know why."
After scoring five goals in 45 appearances for United, Sanchez went on loan to Inter before joining the Italian side on a free transfer in 2020. In 142 appearances for Inter, the forward scored 24 goals, assisted 28 times and won the Serie A twice.
He also won the Supercoppa and the Coppa Italia, but admitted to feeling like "a caged lion" due to a lack of playing at times. After scoring the winner for Inter in the Supercoppa final against Juventus in 2022, Sanchez pleaded for more starts in Italy.
He told Sport Mediaset: "I always said I felt like a caged lion, I wasn't playing! Conte arrived one day and said, 'Nobody else is like you.'
"He would put me on for the final 15 minutes and said I'd make the difference. I said, 'Put me on earlier, I can make the difference then too! This is the roar of the lion!
"Champions are like this, the more they play, the better they feel. The more that champions play, the better they are. If they let me play I am a monster.
"I played against Lazio, I thought I would play today as I was in good shape, but the coach made that decision. I was hungry and felt like winning something tonight! We are on the right track with the right players and we have to continue like this."
Sanchez's career never hit the same heights after he left England in 2020, despite winning silverware in Italy. Sanchez would depart Inter in 2022, playing for Marseille and returning to Milan for another year before spending a year at Udinese and eventually settling at Sevilla in Spain.
This season, the 37-year-old has made 16 appearances, scoring just two goals and assisting once. Sanchez admitted he didn't plan on staying in Italy long-term, even if the club wanted him to.
"I was happy. But even if they’d offered me an extension, I wouldn’t have stayed another season," he said. "Everyone was spectacular with me. I want to thank the city of Milan. I went to Inter, who hadn’t won any trophies for a while before I joined, and then we won the Scudetto. I always like a fight in life, and why not dream?"