Sánchez remained in Universidad de Chile, although he received numerous offers from well known European clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus and A.C. Milan. In 1969, after a contract rule was settled, Universidad de Chile was forced to sell him. He finished his career playing for different Chilean clubs such as Colo-Colo, Palestino and Ferroviarios.

Four of his 24 international goals were at the 1962 World Cup on home soil, where he was the top scorer along with five other players as Chile finished the tournament in third place. In that World Cup he is also remembered for his disputes with several Italian players in the infamous Chile – Italy match in the first round: he knocked out the Italian player Mario David with a punch in an altercation after being fouled, and was subsequently kicked in head by David a few minutes later, resulting in the Italian defender’s sending off. Sánchez later also broke Humberto Maschio’s nose with a left hook; Chile won the match 2–0. Because of his role in the match, later dubbed the “Battle of Santiago”, in 2007, The Times placed Sánchez at number 6 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history.