Alexis Sanchez: A Last Chance for Reinvention in Montreal

Alexis Sanchez 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 went badly wrong, his career has felt like a tour without a headline act.

Now, at 37, the Chilean is betting on one last reinvention. In Montreal. In the cold. In MLS.

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

The numbers tell their own story. Just 45 appearances for Manchester United before he was shipped to Inter, first on loan. A productive burst at Marseille with 18 goals in France, then back to Inter, on to Udinese, and most recently Sevilla in 2025-26. The end product has thinned out with age. The reputation still weighs heavy.

Montreal are gambling that there is still a spark to be found, and Bacary Sagna is convinced they’re right.

“He will need to adapt to the cold first! Trust me, it's cold,” Sagna told GOAL, speaking on behalf of BetVictor Online Casino. “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. Teammates and staff, Sagna says, immediately recognised the level.

“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. 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 simple: strip away the noise, give him a platform, and let him play.

Montreal over Miami? Sagna explains the choice

Sagna knows the terrain better than most. He joined Montreal in 2018 after spells at Manchester City and Benevento and stayed for a season and a half, long enough to fall for the place.

The obvious MLS magnets are clear: New York, Miami, Los Angeles. Sunshine, celebrity, beachfront pitches. Montreal offers something else.

“The lifestyle is very good. I think the ecosystem is made for a great family life. It's an amazing country,” Sagna said of his Canada experience.

“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.”

Then there is the winter, the bit that scares most imports. Sagna leans into it.

“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.

“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. 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 a veteran star with nothing left to prove, that kind of balance might be exactly what he needs.

A two-year window to find the old fire

Alexis signed a two-year contract with Montreal in August 2026. No short-term cameo, no end-of-career lap of honour. Time to settle, to adapt to the league, to the climate, to the travel, and to the expectations that never really left him.

That deal gives him space to chase the version of himself that once tore up the Premier League for Arsenal and shone at Barcelona. The model is clear and close at hand: Lionel Messi.

Alexis recently saw, at brutal close range, what an ageing superstar can still do in MLS. Messi, 39 and still ruthless, scored four of Inter Miami’s seven goals in a crushing win over Canadian opposition at Nu Stadium. A reminder that class, at this level, doesn’t just fade. It mutates.

MLS has already watched one former Barcelona teammate turn into a phenomenon in the States. Now another arrives in Montreal with a different story, a more battered CV, and one last chance to write a final chapter worthy of his name.

If the cold doesn’t bite too hard, and the joy returns, how long before the league starts talking about Alexis Sanchez in the present tense again, not just as a memory of what he used to be?