"In England, he wasn't well" - Mourinho explains why player struggled under him at Manchester United 

Roma manager Jose Mourinho recently spoke about Inter Milan forward Alexis Sanchez's fall from grace after the two linked up at Manchester United.

Sanchez joined Manchester United from rivals Arsenal in 2017 in a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Many expected the Chile forward to excel under Mourinho's guidance.

The opposite happened however, with Sanchez failing to adapt to life at Old Trafford.

Speaking after Roma's 2-0 Coppa Italia loss to Inter on Tuesday night, Mourinho gave his thoughts on Sanchez on TuttoMercatoWeb. He said:

“I exchanged a few words with him before kick off. In England, he wasn’t well, while at Inter, he is happy. He scored a great goal, which changed the course of the game.”

Sanchez played a key role in Inter's victory against Mourinho's men, scoring his side's second goal in the 68th minute. Inter advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.

Yet Sanchez's storied career will always be somewhat tarnished by his period at Manchester United. The winger managed just three goals in 35 Premier League games for the Red Devils before departing for Inter Milan on loan.

And since his move to the current Serie A champions his form has majorly picked up. In 93 games for the side, he has scored 17 times and has returned back to the player so highly regarded during his time at Arsenal.

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Who was to blame for Alexis Sanchez's Manchester United failure?

When Sanchez joined Manchester United there was huge scrutiny surrounding the player's contract. The Chilean was given a £500k a week deal at the Red Devils and so the pressure was on from the get go.

Mourinho's tumultuous end period at Old Trafford didn't particularly help matters. Sanchez needed time to adapt to the Portugal manager's defensive style. It was in stark contrast to the attacking prowess his former boss Arsene Wenger had adopted.

Sanchez reportedly had regrets about joining United after just one training session at the club. He had been linked with neighbors Manchester City prior to move. Should he had made the decision to join City he would have been linking up with his former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.

Sanchez could have been reunited with former boss Guardiola

Sanchez's regret was soon amplified by his poor performances, with his form dropping alarmingly. He was soon a joke for many rival fans to poke fun at given his astronomical contract.

It is fair to say Sanchez's time at United would not have done his reputation any favors. But there are many factors that led to his Premier League demise.

Signing a new deal at Arsenal would perhaps have been the better option for a player that was so highly regarded at the Emirates.