Alexis Sanchez continues remarkable career
Sanchez comes full circle after signing for Udinese
The news that Alexis Sanchez has signed a two year deal with Udinese extends one of the most remarkable football careers of the modern era.
Sanchez joins Udinese after a second spell with Inter Milan which saw him add a second Serie A title to his extensive list of career achievements.
It feels like many observers, in England at least, remember Sanchez most for his ill-fated spell at Manchester United.
While there is no doubt it was the most difficult time of his career, to focus on that alone is to ignore an extraordinary body of work.
This is a player who at time of writing has made 780 professional appearances and scored 280 goals. Oh and added 147 assists.
At international level for Chile he has made a quite remarkable 166 appearances and scored 51 goals.
His trophy cabinet is also well stocked. On his mantelpiece Sanchez has winners medals from two Copa Americas, La Liga, Serie A (twice), four domestic cups, a UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup aswell as well as six SuperCups/Community Shields.
The narrative around his move to Manchester United was that Sanchez had moved for money - that he had turned down a less lucrative offer from Manchester City, swayed by the riches on offer from the red side of the city.
This may or may not have been true but the evidence since clearly suggests that this is not a player motivated by financial gain alone.
If all Sanchez was bothered about was making as much money as he could he would surely have spent the last 18 months playing in Saudi Arabia, not enjoying an outstanding season with Marseille in between two trophy laded spells in Italy.
His return to Udinese adds a nice symmetry to Sanchez's career in Europe given it was where he began his career on the continent.
It will be fascinating to see how the latest stage of his fantastic career plays out.