Alexis Sánchez's New Chapter in Montreal: Can He Shine Again?
Alexis Sánchez has spent the last few years living out of a suitcase. Since that ill-fated move to Old Trafford in January 2018, his career has been a blur of airports, loan deals and short stays. Just 45 appearances for Manchester United, then a switch to Inter, first on loan and then permanently. Marseille, Udinese, back to Milan, a season in Spain with Sevilla. Plenty of miles. Not enough magic.
Apart from that 18-goal burst in France, the end product has dried up for the 37-year-old. The fear was that one of the game’s great livewires had become a fading light. The hope, now, is that the cold air of Canada jolts him back to life.
Bacary Sagna is convinced it will.
“They could see why he is Alexis Sánchez”
Sánchez has signed a two-year deal with Montreal, arriving in August 2026 with the clear brief to become the face of the club and a headline act in MLS. Sagna, who knows both the player and the city, believes the fit is perfect – once the Chilean learns to live with the temperature.
“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.”
Those who watched Sánchez at his peak with Arsenal remember exactly what Sagna is talking about: the relentless pressing, the explosive bursts, the goals from nowhere. Sagna wants that version back – or as close to it as a veteran forward can get.
“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,” he said. “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 league has seen this story before. A global name arrives late in his career, questions swirl, and then the ball starts flying into the net. Lionel Messi has turned that script into a weekly spectacle in Miami. Montreal now waits to see if Sánchez can write his own version.
Sagna’s Montreal: cold air, warm life
Sagna is not talking about Montreal from a distance. The former France international joined the club in 2018 after spells with Manchester City and Benevento and squeezed one-and-a-half seasons out of his own North American adventure. He loved it.
The obvious MLS magnets – New York, Miami, Los Angeles – dominate players’ daydreams, but Sagna insists Canada offers something different, and in some ways better.
“The lifestyle is very good. I think the ecosystem is made for a great family life. It's an amazing country,” he said. “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 one thing everyone warns you about. Sagna embraced 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.”
He is not overselling it, either. “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 South American star in the autumn of his career, that blend of cultures and comfort matters. It gives Sánchez room to breathe, to settle, to stop thinking about the next flight.
Chasing Messi’s shadow in North America
The contract length tells its own story. Two years in Montreal gives Sánchez more than a farewell tour. It gives him time to find his rhythm again, to rediscover the edge that once put him in that “top 20 in the world” conversation Sagna referenced.
He has just had a brutal reminder of what a veteran can still do on this side of the Atlantic. Messi, at 39, is still tearing teams apart. Sánchez saw it up close as the Argentine scored four of Inter Miami’s seven goals in a crushing win over Canadian opposition at Nu Stadium.
That is the standard now. Not the Messi of Barcelona, but the Messi of MLS: ruthless, efficient, still decisive. If Sánchez can even approach that level of impact, Montreal’s bet will look inspired.
He has the stage, the contract and, according to Sagna, the perfect city. What he does with this last big chapter will decide whether his North American stop is just another line on a long CV, or the place where the spark finally returns.
