Alexis Sanchez's Move to Barcelona Is a Career Killer and a Waste of Money

Being an avid watcher of the Serie A in past years, there was no doubt that Alexis Sanchez had the talent to go on to bigger and better things. It wasn't until the World Cup in 2010 that saw him propel onto the world stage. With this instant fame came comparisons with Ronaldo, expectations that he would be one of the greats and most importantly a whole host of clubs suddenly interested in signing Sanchez.

His season with Udinese in 2010-2011 was quite impressive, scoring a number of goals and bagging a number of assists. Udinese even went so far as to be eligible for Champions League qualification, something they had not achieved in a while.

With everything looking good for Sanchez, Barcelona came calling and today secured the Chilean's services. It is this move that I think will see him not reach his potential as a footballer  but rather will see him demoted to the bench and eventually offloaded to another club.

Why do I say this?

Well, Sanchez is a winger but so is Pedro, Afellay, Iniesta and of course Messi. Indeed Barcelona are spoiled for choice but by no means do any of these players deserve to play on the bench. Obviously, they all can't be played at any one time and depending on the formation employed by Pep only two could possibly play at a time, possibly three.

Along with this, Sanchez will most likely play out of position for Barca, further adding to the task at hand, which is to prove himself at the Nou Camp. Unless Guardiola changes the formation, the current role he plays at Udinese doesn't exist.

At just 22, Sanchez is far from being the oldest player at Barcelona. Although in comparison to others around his age at the club, he is vastly inexperienced. He has never played in the La Liga, nor the Champions League. Also take into account that the season will be vastly longer than he is used to, and we could see him struggle towards the end of the 2011-2012 season.

Now, it wouldn't be fair to say that Sanchez will not work at Barca without proposing he go somewhere else. Actually the answer to that question is quite simple: stay at Udinese, Alexis! With the Italian club on the verge of the Champions League, Sanchez could prove himself further, adding to his price tag and attracting clubs that were once not interested in him to make a bid.

Considering he has made his move to Barcelona, I wish him all the best, and for his sake I hope he does well. But the reality at the moment is that things are weighing against him, and hopefully he can replicate the form which made him so popular.

Then Barcelona may just have Messi and "Ronaldo" on the same team.

Adrian is the editor at Play the Advantage Football.