Manchester United finally confirmed the arrival of Alexis Sánchez on Monday in unusual fashion – with a video purportedly showing the Chilean forward playing ‘Glory Glory Man United’ on the piano.
The club confirmed the deal in a tweet headed: “Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Introducing #Alexis7… #GGMU #MUFC” and tagging the player in. The 30-second video attached appears to show Sánchez playing the piano in his full kit, before walking down the Old Trafford tunnel and surveying the pitch.
🎹 Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Introducing #Alexis7…#GGMU #MUFC @Alexis_Sanchez pic.twitter.com/t9RIIx4mE4
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 22, 2018
Behind-the-scenes clips, and this video from 2014, suggest that it is indeed Sánchez himself playing the famous Manchester United ditty. The video has already been watched 3.5m times and retweeted 115,000 times. Some commenters suggested that the announcement was delayed in order for Sánchez to learn the song on piano.
The clip was posted on Twitter at the same time as a more understated message from Arsenal, confirming that Sánchez had left the club and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan had joined them in a swap deal. Manchester City, who pulled out of a deal for Sánchez last week, announced Kevin De Bruyne’s contract extension at the same time. Fourth-tier Yeovil Town, meanwhile, had a welcome message of their own for Sánchez:
You said you've joined "the biggest club in the world" @Alexis_Sanchez so it's only right you start your #MUFC career in the biggest away dressing room in @SkyBetLeagueTwo*.
— Yeovil Town FC (@YTFC) January 22, 2018
*maybe 😉 #YTFC #Alexis7 pic.twitter.com/BVFt0A06Xk
It’s not the first time United have gone above and beyond to unveil a signing. Paul Pogba’s arrival in the summer of 2016 was marked by an Adidas-created collaboration with Stormzy which featured the midfielder dancing. Romelu Lukaku, who joined from Everton last summer, was announced in rather more makeshift fashion.
United’s effort is symbolic of football clubs’ battle to create ever more innovative and outlandish ways to announce their signings. Some are good, like Liverpool’s nod to the impatient Twitter masses. Some, like Antonio Rüdiger’s announcement at Chelsea, maybe seemed better at the storyboard stage.
Which name would you get on the back of your @nikefootball Chelsea home shirt today? 👀 #WeAreThePride pic.twitter.com/WKmYxd2x0K
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 9, 2017
Aston Villa felt the full force of a Twitter backlash after posting this imaginary WhatsApp group chat to announce the arrival of John Terry, while nobody was quite sure if this Besiktas video was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek or not.
Finally, a couple of personal favourites – Roma go through some ideas with Aleksandar Kolarov and Southampton announce the deal everyone was waiting for.
