Alexis Sánchez Begins New Chapter in Montreal
Alexis Sánchez has spent the last few years living out of a suitcase. Since that ill-fated, headline-grabbing move to Manchester United in January 2018, his career has been a tour of Europe’s major leagues: Old Trafford to Inter, on to Marseille, back to Udinese, another spell in Milan and then Sevilla for the 2025-26 season. Brief flashes of the old brilliance, like his 18-goal burst in France, have been the exception rather than the rule for the 37-year-old.
Now comes a very different chapter: Montreal, Major League Soccer and the hope that a fading spark can catch light again on Canadian soil.
Sagna’s warning: “First, he’ll need to adapt to the cold”
Bacary Sagna knows exactly what awaits him. The former France international, who finished his own career with the Montreal club after spells at Manchester City and Benevento, believes MLS has landed another genuine global star – and that the league should be thrilled about it.
“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.”
Sagna has seen enough in those early training-ground impressions to believe that the veteran forward can still light up games.
“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. 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.”
That is the bet Montreal are making: that beneath the miles and the moves, there is still a player capable of bending games to his will.
Montreal, not Miami: the other North American dream
MLS newcomers often gravitate towards the glamour coasts – New York, Miami, Los Angeles. Sagna chose something different in 2018 when he joined Montreal, and he never regretted it. His one-and-a-half seasons there left a mark that went beyond football.
“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.”
The winter, often painted as a deterrent, became a feature rather than a flaw for him.
“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.”
Montreal, he insists, is more than just another MLS stop-off.
“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 twilight of his career, that mix of cultures, languages and lifestyle could matter as much as tactics or formations.
Two years to find the old Alexis
Alexis signed a two-year deal with Montreal in August 2026. That timeline matters. This is not a short-term cameo or a retirement lap; it gives him space to adapt to a new league, a new climate and a new rhythm, and to chase something resembling the form that once made him one of the most feared forwards in Europe.
The template is already in front of him.
He recently had a close-up reminder of how devastating an ageing superstar can still be in MLS. Lionel Messi, his former Barcelona team-mate, continues to tear up the league at 39. The Argentine scored four of Inter Miami’s seven goals in a crushing win over Canadian opposition at Nu Stadium, a performance that underlined why some still call him the greatest of all time.
That is the standard. That is the bar Alexis now stares at.
The Chilean will not be asked to be Messi. But in a city Sagna describes as one of the best places to live on the planet, with a league eager for another marquee name to catch fire, he will be asked a simpler question: can he still be Alexis Sánchez when it really matters?
