Alexis Sánchez

Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈleksis ˈsantʃes]; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a winger or a striker for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and the Chile national team. He is regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation and one of the greatest Chilean players of all time. He is also one of the few footballers to have made at least 1,000 competitive appearances (the first Chilean to achieve the feat, since the time matches are recorded).

Dubbed "El Niño Maravilla" (The Wonderboy), Sánchez began his senior club career playing for Cobreloa, aged 15, and signed with Udinese in 2006, aged 18; he won consecutive league titles while on loan to Colo-Colo and River Plate. Sánchez was the subject of a record association football transfer when he signed for Barcelona in 2011 in a transfer worth €37.5 million, becoming the most expensive Chilean player of all time. There, Sánchez won six trophies, including a La Liga title and a Copa del Rey.

Sánchez joined Arsenal in 2014 in a transfer worth £31.7 million (€35 million). In England, he experienced his peak years individually, helping Arsenal win two FA Cups, being awarded the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, and being voted into the 2015 PFA Team of the Year. In 2018, he moved to league rivals Manchester United in a swap deal; he signed for Inter Milan a year later, and won a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia. In 2022, he signed for Ligue 1 club Marseille, before returning to Inter a year later and winning a second Serie A title in 2023–24.

Sánchez made his senior international debut for Chile in 2006 at age 18, and has since earned 168 caps, appearing in eight major tournaments and becoming both his country's most capped player and all-time top goalscorer. He led Chile to their first victory in a major tournament by winning the 2015 Copa América, scoring the winning penalty in the final; he captained the team to a repeat of this triumph at the Copa América Centenario in 2016, winning the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player.