Alexis Sánchez: From Global Star to Montreal's New Hope

Alexis Sánchez has spent the last few years living out of a suitcase. Manchester, Milan, Marseille, Udine, Seville. Brief flashes of the old brilliance, long stretches of frustration. Since that blockbuster move to Old Trafford in January 2018 fell flat, his career has felt like a tour of what might have been.

Now, at 37, he has chosen something different. Montreal. MLS. The cold, the calm, the chance to matter again.

From global star to football nomad

The numbers tell the story. Just 45 appearances for Manchester United before he was shipped to Inter, first on loan, then permanently. A productive burst at Marseille, where he hit 18 goals, but outside that French renaissance the end product has thinned out. A return to Udinese, another spell with Inter, and then a season in Spain with Sevilla in 2025-26.

Not a decline without talent. A decline without rhythm.

Alexis has been chasing the version of himself that once terrorised Premier League defences in Arsenal red, the player routinely mentioned among the top 20 in the world. That version has appeared in flashes, never for long enough.

Montreal is supposed to change that.

Sagna’s verdict: “They could see why he is Alexis Sanchez”

Bacary Sagna knows both the player and the city. He shared a dressing room with Alexis at Arsenal, then later sampled MLS life with Montreal after leaving Manchester City and Benevento in 2018. He lasted a season and a half in Canada and left with a genuine affection for the place.

Speaking to GOAL on behalf of BetVictor Online Casino, Sagna did not bother with clichés about “adjustment periods” or “project timelines”. He went straight to the heart of it.

“He will need to adapt to the cold first! Trust me, it's cold,” Sagna said, before quickly pivoting to the football. “But Alexis Sanchez is a top player. I had some feedback already and people were impressed at his first session, they could see the difference of quality, they could see why he is Alexis Sanchez.”

That first impression matters. MLS has grown used to big names arriving with big reputations and heavy legs. Sagna’s early reports suggest this is not a ceremonial final chapter. Alexis has turned up to play.

“I think it's very important for him to just enjoy football again and to show why he's been performing for Arsenal, why he's been in the top 20 best players in the world at some point,” Sagna added. “MLS will notice this soon because he's a top player and I'm pleased to see him playing for Montreal and hopefully he will have a great impact.”

The message is clear: this is not nostalgia. It’s opportunity.

Montreal: cold streets, warm fit

When players picture MLS, they often see beaches, skylines and palm trees. New York. Miami. Los Angeles. Sagna chose something else and has no regrets.

“The lifestyle is very good. I think the ecosystem is made for a great family life. It's an amazing country,” he said of his time in Canada. “I lived there for three years. It's a well-balanced country, you have the seasons and people live well. I was in Montreal, beautiful city. It's a European aspect with U.S. infrastructure.”

It is not the obvious destination for a South American star in his late thirties. It might be the right one. Montreal offers a slower beat, a different kind of spotlight, and a city where French, English and a strong Spanish-speaking community blend into something familiar enough to feel like home.

Sagna even sold the winter as a feature, not a bug.

“Even winter, I mean I love the sun but I enjoyed winter there because I could go walking for two hours on the snow in the park with a hot chocolate and it grounded you. I think not many places are like that today in the world we live in today.”

For a player who has spent nearly a decade under relentless scrutiny, that grounding might be priceless. No daily storm over wages, no endless reruns of that piano unveiling at Old Trafford. Just football, family, and a city that sits regularly near the top of global “best places to live” lists.

“It’s amongst the best places to live - Montreal was in the top five of the best places to live in the world at some point,” Sagna said. “It’s fun, the vibe is good, people are happy and it's a nice country. Also, people speak both languages, French and English, and you have a big Spanish community being in North America also.”

For Alexis, who has criss-crossed Europe in search of a spark, this sounds less like a stopover and more like a reset.

Two years to find the old fire

Montreal have not brought him in for a cameo. Alexis signed a two-year contract when he joined in August 2026, a commitment that gives both sides time. Time for him to adapt to the league, to the travel, to the climate. Time for Montreal to build around his strengths and see whether that old, ruthless version can be coaxed back.

The template is already in front of him. Lionel Messi has turned MLS into his own playground, dragging Inter Miami to new heights and proving that a superstar in his late thirties can still dominate if the hunger remains. Alexis has seen that up close.

He recently watched Messi, still evergreen at 39, score four of Inter Miami’s seven goals in a crushing win over Canadian opposition at Nu Stadium. That kind of performance does more than light up a scoreboard. It sets a standard. It poses a challenge.

Can Alexis, once one of the game’s most relentless forwards, answer it?

The miles on his legs say one thing. The early whispers from Montreal’s training ground suggest another. The cold will bite, the schedule will test him, but if Sagna is right, MLS has just welcomed not a fading name, but a player still stubborn enough to chase his own past.

Now he has two Canadian winters, and a league eager for new heroes, to prove it.