In 1975, River Plate won their first title after an 18-year drought, and Alonso became the fans' undisputed hero. Sabella got his break in 1976, when Alonso was transferred to Marseille. He played a key role when River won the 1977 "Metropolitano" championship. Nevertheless, when Alonso returned to River Plate, Sabella was again relegated to the bench. Sheffield United had tried to sign the teenage Diego Maradona from Argentinos Juniors, however, the club decided that Maradona was too expensive. Therefore, United turned to Sabella, who they signed for £160,000 on 19 July 1978. Known as Alex while in England, Sabella made his debut for the Blades in a 2–1 defeat against Leyton Orient on 19 August 1978. Sabella played for United until 1980, scoring eight league goals in 76 appearances. After relegation to the Third Division, manager Harry Haslam agreed a fee of £600,000 with Second Division club Sunderland. However, Sabella had ambitions to play in the First Division and refused to go. His final appearance for United came with a goal in the County Cup (a regional competition between South Yorkshire teams) Final victory over Sheffield Wednesday on 8 May 1980. During the close season, Sabella was sold to Leeds United for £400,000. He played for Leeds without much success between 1980 and 1981, making 23 appearances and scoring two goals. John Lukic used to give him a lift to training and matches from Sabella's digs in Sheffield. In December 1981, Sabella started looking for an Argentine club and was eventually sold to Estudiantes de La Plata. Under coach Carlos Bilardo, the team reached the semi-finals of the 1982 Nacional tournament (Sabella was injured in the first semi-final match against Quilmes). Subsequently, Sabella, together with Marcelo Trobbiani, José Daniel Ponce and Miguel Ángel Russo, made up the solid midfield of the Estudiantes team that went on to win two back-to-back championship titles. When Bilardo was put in charge of the Argentine national team, Sabella competed for his place with veterans Norberto Alonso and Ricardo Bochini, as well as younger players like Carlos Daniel Tapia, Jorge Burruchaga and Diego Maradona. Sabella played eight times for the national team, playing in all four games in the 1983 Copa América and in four friendlies; against Chile in May 1983 (as substitute), Paraguay in July 1983, Brazil in June 1984 and Uruguay in July 1984.