Manchester United’s former number seven Alexis Sanchez is back in the news and linked with a shock free-transfer move to Barcelona.
Old Trafford has witnessed a its fair share of flops over the past 10 years or so, defined by the clubs previous transfer policy.
Multiple big name arrivals failed to light up the Theatre of Dreams as United splashed millions down the drain.
The number seven shirt itself was one of the primary culprits as it represented something of a curse for the club.
Angel Di Maria and Memphis Depay two of the names to let down United in their historic shirt.
Another one who arrived in a swap deal which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way was Alexis Sanchez who came from Arsenal in January 2018.
A move which originally filled fans with hope, ended up being one of the flops of the decade for United.
Sanchez nears Barcelona return
The Chilean international now appears to be on the verge of a return to one of his former clubs.
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Sanchez played for Barcelona between 2011 and 2014 scoring 39 goals in 88 league games and is seemingly now close rejoining.
This report comes according to Chilean journalist Jose Tomas Fernandez Pumarino.
He says: “Barcelona and representatives of Alexis Sánchez will meet this Friday to see the feasibility of the signing.”
It is believed Sanchez has been chosen as the replacement for Ousmane Dembele who is joining PSG, according to his boss Xavi.
How badly did he flop at Old Trafford
Sanchez’s poor performances for United, are something of a freak result, given he performed well everywhere else in his career.
By comparison; Arsenal 125 G/A in 166 games, Barcelona 83 G/A in 141 games, Udinese 41 G/A in 112 games, Inter Milan 43 G/A in 109 games and Marseille 21 G/A in 44 games, all from Transfermarkt.
For United 45 games, 14 G/A which is a significant drop off for a player of his quality.
This led United to effectively pay him to leave, with him then joining Inter for free.
Now without a club, he could return to the club at which he became a world-star which would be an interesting move for Sanchez.