About Alexis Sanchez’s watch collection
Alexis Sanchez is a Chilean professional footballer widely regarded as one of the most gifted attackers of his generation. Born in Tocopilla, Chile, in 1988, Sanchez rose to prominence through spells at Udinese and Barcelona before establishing himself as a genuine Premier League force during his time at Arsenal between 2014 and 2018. His combination of technical skill, work rate, and direct running made him one of the division's most dangerous wide forwards, earning him multiple Player of the Season nominations and a devoted global fanbase. He has since represented Inter Milan and Marseille at club level, while accumulating well over 100 caps for the Chilean national team, with whom he won back-to-back Copa América titles in 2015 and 2016.
When it comes to watches, what we have seen of the Alexis Sanchez watch collection points firmly toward Rolex — specifically toward the more dressed-up end of the catalogue. Sanchez has been spotted wearing a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in 18k yellow gold, reference 116518, fitted with a leather strap rather than the bracelet. That choice is telling. The leather strap removes the sports-watch associations the Daytona carries and repositions it closer to a traditional chronograph, something you might expect to see at a dinner table rather than a paddock. The reference 116518 belongs to the generation Rolex introduced in the early 2000s, housing the in-house calibre 4130, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a 72-hour power reserve that represented a significant technical step forward for the manufacture.
The yellow gold Daytona with leather strap is not the obvious choice for a footballer in his mid-thirties who could easily reach for something louder. It suggests a collector who has moved past first instincts and settled on a configuration that suits personal taste over crowd appeal. With only one confirmed sighting in our database so far, the full picture of what Sanchez keeps in his watch box remains open — but what is visible points to considered, restrained taste within the Rolex universe.