Pep Guardiola has backed Alexis Sanchez to revive his career after escaping his Manchester United misery.

The Manchester City manager, who was desperate to bring Sanchez to the Etihad, insists the Chile international should not be made the scapegoat for his disastrous spell at Old Trafford.

And he is convinced Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte will get the best out of him after his loan move to San Siro.

“I know him,” said Guardiola. “We worked together in Barcelona - I have a special affection as a player, of course, but especially as a human being. He’s an incredible, humble guy and a fighter.

“So now he decided to move Italy with one of the greatest teams in Europe with Inter right now, incredible manager with Antonio Conte, and I’m pretty sure they are going to do well.

“Because I think the way Inter plays, it suits him perfectly. Playing close to (Romelu) Lukaku and in this position I think he is going to have a good period in Milan.”

Guardiola thought he had secured a deal for Sanchez in his second summer at City, only to see the former Arsenal forward opt for a move to United in January 2018.

But his time on the red half of Manchester saw him cut a frustrated figure, scoring just five goals in his 45 appearances.

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It was a remarkable slump in form – but Guardiola insists it’s wrong to point the finger of blame at the 30-year-old.

“Football players don’t depend on one player,” he added. “You judge it was a failure for just Alexis, but there are many reasons.

“They don’t play alone - it’s not tennis, it’s not golf. To play with 10 players against one system, against opponents, against many, many things that are involved in one player performing well in the team.

“I don’t know what happened, I was not there, I will not be there, so that’s why I cannot give my opinion - but I am not thinking it is just for one reason.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained his reasons for allowing Sanchez to go, insisting he could guarantee the £450,000-a-week forward game time - even with 17-year-old Mason Greenwood as the only cover for first choice pairing Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

But the Norwegian has not ruled out a return, with Sanchez’s loan move not including an option for Inter to buy.

United manager said: “If I can’t guarantee regular football for Alexis Sanchez, it’s better for the two of us that he goes and plays in Italy and shows what we know he’s capable of. But I could not guarantee him that here.

“I’m sure we will see Alexis back. We just hope he plays regular football for a year. Then he can find his form.”

Asked if he has a future, Solskjaer added: “Yeah definitely because this is loan for a year.”