Marcos Rojo had a four-letter reaction to Sánchez joining Man United | OneFootball

You might think everyone associated with Manchester United would have been delighted by the January arrival of Alexis Sánchez, but you’d be wrong.

Marcos Rojo has revealed that he had such a frosty relationship with Sánchez during the Chilean’s time at Arsenal that he was even warned by United boss José Mourinho not to kick him in training.

There’s usually no love lost when Argentines and Chileans meet on a football pitch and Rojo and Sánchez – who played against each other many times for both club and country before becoming team-mates – are no exception.

“Alexis is a great player, but we didn’t used to get on out on the pitch,” Rojo told TyC Sports back in his homeland.

“Every time we came up against one another, whether in internationals or when United played Arsenal, I would give him a good kicking — and he did the same to me.

“On top of that I used to insult him, and he would reply in kind.”

And when it was confirmed that Sánchez would be joining him at Old Trafford during the winter transfer window, Rojo admitted his reaction to the news was rather different than most.

“So when I learned that he was going to join United I said “Oh, fucking hell, no, now this guy’s going to be here,” he said.

“He [Mourinho] told me: “We’re going to sign Alexis. I don’t want you smashing him up in training tomorrow”.

“He burst out laughing.”