From washing cars at a cemetery to the highest-paid footballer in the Premier League

December 19, 1988. In the northern desert town of Tocopilla, on the shores of the Pacific, Alexis Alejandro is born into a working-class family. One of Martina Sanchez's four children, and his birth was overshadowed by his father's departure, abandoning Martina and Alexis and his three siblings.

Scarce means made it hard to make do in a small house in the most peripheral area of the Antofagasta region, Alexis was made to work from a very young age to help out his mother. Completely oblivious to the disheartening surroundings of a place nicknamed 'The Devil's Corner', a young Sanchez never stopped dreaming.

He made a promise to his mother before owning his first pair of boots. "I am going to be the best player in the world," Martina heard again and again. She worked endless shifts in Tocopilla at a launderette and a fishmonger's, and she soon began to witness her son's meteoric rise as he sidestepped every obstacle that came his way on the road to success. Alexis said in 2013: "I'd say to my mum, 'Don't worry, I'll be a footballer and everything will work out - we'll have money', and she would laugh." He was true to his word.

At the age of 8, Alexis first joined the regional club of Araujo, where he was given his first pair of studded boots by the mayor of Tocopilla. Before turning 10, he was already his household's main breadwinner when he began to wash cars in the city cemetery. Alexis saved up however little money he could from the tips he received from the most affluent customers who trusted him to wash their vehicles.

On the football pitch, his class was evident from an early age, and he gradually forged the legend of the 'Niño Maravilla', which literally translates as 'The Wonder Child'. He began to offer his services for regional tournaments, with teams hiring him on a temporary basis. He never asked for money in return, but boots, balls or kits which allowed him to continue kicking the ball around the country.

He was soon offered the opportunity of a lifetime. In 2003, after showcasing his talents throughout Chile, he was accepted into the academy of Cobreloa, from the Atacama desert mining city of Calama. He continued to grow and it was only two years before he made his full debut in the Chilean top flight. "Cobreloa had a genuine marvel. He was just a kid, just 16, with a boy's size, a boy's body, a boy's mind. So he became El Nino Maravilla," said Jaime Cortes, the journalist who coined Sanchez's nickname on his debut.

Having grown up in abject poverty and not knowing were the next loaf of bread would come from he took his first steps towards honouring the promise he made to his mother when joining Serie A side Udinese in 2006. Spells on loan at Colo-Colo and River Plate gave him the chance to shine in South America before leaving for Europe in 2008.

The story of Alexis Sanchez is one of a humble kid who clawed his way to success. His hard work in Italy earned him a move to Barcelona where he continued his education under one of the best managers around, Pep Guardiola. He became a fan-favourite at the Emirates and twice guided Chile to the continental crown. He is now focused on making it with the Red Devils, under Jose Mourinho. He came from nothing, and achieved so much. The story is not over yet.