Alexis Sánchez

Alexis Sánchez
Sánchez with Chile at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
Personal information
Full name Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez[1]
Date of birth (1988-12-19) 19 December 1988[2][3]
Place of birth Tocopilla, Chile[3]
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[4]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Sevilla
Number 10
Youth career
1999–2000 Universidad Católica
2000–2003 Escuela Bernardo O'Higgins
2004–2005 Cobreloa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Cobreloa 47 (12)
2006–2011 Udinese 95 (20)
2006–2007 → Colo-Colo (loan) 32 (5)
2007–2008 → River Plate (loan) 23 (4)
2011–2014 Barcelona 88 (39)
2014–2018 Arsenal 122 (60)
2018–2020 Manchester United 32 (3)
2019–2020Inter Milan (loan) 22 (4)
2020–2022 Inter Milan 57 (12)
2022–2023 Marseille 35 (14)
2023–2024 Inter Milan 23 (2)
2024–2025 Udinese 13 (0)
2025– Sevilla 1 (0)
International career
2004 Chile U15
2005 Chile U17
2007 Chile U20 12 (2)
2006– Chile 168 (51)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Chile
Copa América
Winner 2015 Chile
Winner 2016 United States
FIFA Confederations Cup
Runner-up 2017 Russia
FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 Canada
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:46, 13 September 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 03:42, 11 June 2025 (UTC)

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 forward for La Liga club Sevilla and the Chile national team. He is regarded as one of best forwards of his generation and one of the greatest Chilean players of all time.[5][6][7]

Dubbed "El Niño Maravilla" (The Wonder Child),[8] 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. He then joined Arsenal in 2014 in a transfer worth £31.7 million (€35 million), and won two FA Cups, the 2015 PFA Fans' Player of the Year, and was 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 August 2022, he signed for Ligue 1 club Marseille. Having played only one season for the French side, Sánchez returned to Inter Milan in the summer of 2023.

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 (2016), winning the Golden Ball for Best Player.

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 17 de mayo de 2014, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 17 May 2014, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Alexis Sanchez Profile". Arsenal FC. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Alexis Sanchez". Olympique de Marseille. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Ranking the 20 best players in the Premier League: January 2017". The Telegraph. 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Alexis Sanchez's story is the stuff of dreams across Chile". ESPN. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Abren debate sobre el mejor de la historia: los tres chilenos que superan a Vidal en una lista". as.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. ^ Smith, Rory (18 June 2011). "Udinese forward Alexis Sanchez on the road to greatness". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2018.