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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joseph McBride

Jose Mourinho's "sad man" Alexis Sanchez comments as pair cross paths again

It's no secret that Jose Mourinho and Alexis Sanchez didn't exactly see eye-to-eye whilst the pair were at Manchester United, although the Chilean has had the last laugh as he scored a wondergoal against Roma on Tuesday.

Mourinho made an emotional return to the San Siro with Roma to face former side Inter Milan, but he was knocked out of the Coppa Italia by his previous employers as Sanchez produced a stunning 30-yard strike to cap off a dominant 2-0 victory.

Sanchez was brought to United by Mourinho when they fought off competition from Manchester City to sign the Arsenal star, but it was a disastrous move, and the Chilean has failed to reach his former heights ever since leaving the Emirates.

His wonder strike against Roma proved what he is still capable of producing, in what was a bitter pill to swallow for Mourinho who once called the star a "sad man."

HAVE YOUR SAY! Would Alexis Sanchez have flopped if he moved to Manchester City? Comment below

There's no denying that Sanchez was world class at Arsenal after securing a move away from Barcelona in 2014, as he stepped out of the shadows of Lionel Messi and Neymar to become the main man elsewhere.

Sanchez helped Arsenal win two FA Cups during a four-year stint in north London, and United thought they had pulled off a similar move to the one that saw Robin van Persie switch the Emirates for Old Trafford.

However, it couldn't have gone much worse for Sanchez at United, and the Mouirnho ultimately paid the price for putting his faith in the Chilean, as he failed to produce and the Portuguese boss was sacked 11 months later.

Mourinho later reflected on the disastrous move and said that he failed to get the best out of Sanchez at United because he was a "sad man", despite being given the biggest contract that had ever been offered at Old Trafford.

Jose Mourinho claimed that Alexis Sanchez was a "sad man" at Manchester United (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

"Sanchez… I felt him [to be] not a happy man. And I think in every job you have when you are not happy it is not so easy to perform at every level. And maybe I am wrong," Mourinho told The Telegraph.

"Maybe it was me who was not capable to get into him and to get the best out of him. As a manager sometimes you have the capacity to get the best out of the players and other times you are not successful in that approach.

"But the reality is that I always felt [of Sanchez], 'a sad man'. So probably in Italy he will recover this. I hope he can. I always wish well to every player."

Well, he certainly managed to recover his previous form against Mourinho's side when it mattered most, and Sanchez also had something to say about the comments of his former boss.

Alexis Sanchez brought out his former quality with a rocket against Roma (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

Sanchez previously claimed that it was Mourinho's heavy rotation that played a huge part in his failure to shine at United, and he claimed that he didn't like the way his former boss shattered his squad's confidence.

"I say things as they are and in my opinion," Sanchez told the BBC. "Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world in the way that he coaches, how he studies videos, the way he goes about things.

"But then, within the group there was that feeling that you were in the team then out. Sometimes I didn't play, then I did, then I didn't and as a player you lose confidence, each player lost their confidence, do you understand?"

Sanchez also blamed Mourinho for his decision making, and blamed the Portuguese boss for affecting his confidence when he was playing well: "Sometimes I'm playing well and I score a goal and he took me off. And I'd say, 'I love football, I love football.'

Alexis Sanchez blamed Jose Mourinho for his failed move to Manchester United (X01988)

"I've played football since I was five and if I have the ball taken away from me, it's as if I lose my joy. I'm like that."

It wasn't just Mourinho that failed with Sanchez, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also deemed him surplus to requirements at United, and the Chilean joined Inter on a permanent deal in 2020.

Sanchez may never be the player he once was at Arsenal, but he has began to find his feet again in Italy, so although Mourinho couldn't get the best out of him, he was spot on with his prediction.

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