Alexis Sanchez bid farewell to Manchester United teammates before he left to complete his 10-month loan move to Inter Milan.
The MEN understands Sanchez, 30, was driven to United's Carrington training complex on Wednesday morning and the Chilean spent around 10 minutes saying his goodbyes to teammates. Sanchez was then driven to Manchester Airport, where he boarded a private jet to Milan.
Sanchez was pictured arriving at Milan airport on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to be unveiled as an Inter player before the weekend. Serie A side Roma held talks with United about a possible deal for Sanchez earlier this month but sources say the finances of the terms were deemed unsuitable.
United viewed Inter as likely suitors for Sanchez months ago and the Chile international is due to swiftly reunite with Romelu Lukaku, who lobbied Inter coach Antonio Conte to move for Sanchez.
Inter do not have an option to buy Sanchez for a fixed fee upon the expiration of his loan, in case he performs well enough that his valuation soars in an already inflated market. Sanchez is contracted to United until 2022 and Inter are understood to be paying three-quarters of Sanchez's £400,000 weekly wage.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is believed to have decided Sanchez was surplus to requirements around five months ago and it is believed United felt Sanchez could have had a negative influence if he stayed.
Solskjaer decided to discard players who were not committed to the club with the exception of Paul Pogba, who was deemed indispensable despite his desire for a transfer in the summer window.
Amid doubts over the futures of Sanchez, Pogba and Lukaku, United prioritised keeping Pogba due to his talent and their paucity of options in midfield. The club sold Marouane Fellaini to Shandong Luneng in the winter and Ander Herrera left on a free to join Paris Saint-Germain last month.
Although United originally wanted an established forward to replace Lukaku, Solskjaer then suggested an additional attacker would have blocked 17-year-old striker Mason Greenwood's pathway to the first-team.
The imminent departure of Sanchez will leave United with eight forwards, three of them teenagers, and Daniel James, 21, has just three Premier League appearances to his name.
Since Sanchez arrived from Arsenal as part of a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan 19 months ago, he has started 31 times for United, made 14 substitute appearances and scored just five goals.
