Renato Sanches

On 16 August 2019, Sanches appeared as a late substitute for Thomas Müller in a 2–2 draw against Hertha Berlin. After the match, in a post-game interview, Sanches made it clear that he wanted to leave the club, to play more regularly. Afterwards, Sanches missed a post-game training and went home, which resulted in him being fined €10,000. Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge responded to Sanches comments saying "it's not appropriate when one runs off in anger right after the first or second game. He would do well to keep calm. He’ll get his chances".

On 23 August 2019, Sanches joined French club Lille on a four-year contract for a reported fee of €25 million, becoming Lille's most expensive signing ever.

After returning to Bayern for 2018–19 and playing more matches under manager Niko Kovač, he would only play three matches as a substitute in his final season with them. Shortly after, in August 2019, Sanches was signed by French side Lille for a reported fee of €25 million, becoming Lille's most expensive signing ever.

Sanches suffered hamstring injuries in two consecutive FA Cup matches in January 2018, and new manager Carlos Carvalhal allowed him to go home so the warmer weather could aid his rehabilitation. Sanches did not play a competitive match after 2 January 2018 until the end of the season. At the end of the season, Carvalhal said, "Renato knows he has had a very bad season. He is not at the level he was and when he had the injury in January, it finished him. Renato has a big talent, but he has much to learn. He stopped learning when he left Benfica and went to one of the biggest clubs in the world."

On 1 July 2018, Sanches returned to Bayern Munich. New Bayern manager Niko Kovač said at the beginning of pre-season training, "I'll try to make him feel good here. When someone feels good, it's much easier to perform well. He has skills that you don't see every day in the Bundesliga; that's why FC Bayern signed him." Given a first Bayern start since May 2017, Sanches scored his first goal for the club on 19 September, finishing James Rodríguez's cross in a 2–0 Champions League group win at his former club Benfica. His return to good form was indeed sustained by being elected Bayern's best player of September. On 19 December 2018, Sanches was sent-off against RB Leipzig. Sanches scored his first Bundesliga goal on 18 May, on the final day of the league campaign, appearing as a substitute for Leon Goretzka in a 5–0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to seal the title; as Bayern finished two points above Dortmund with 78 points. A week later, Sanches won his first DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. Sanches did not appear in the match.

In September 2018, Sanches was called-up for the friendly match against Croatia and the UEFA Nations League match against Italy. On 6 September, he came on as a substitute in the 86th minute against Croatia for his first international cap in nearly 18 months.

On 31 August 2017, Sanches joined Premier League club Swansea City on a one-year loan lasting until 30 June 2018. Sanches was loaned to Swansea in order to play regularly in a strong league. He made his debut ten days later at the Liberty Stadium, in a 0–1 loss to Newcastle United. BBC Sport reporter Dafydd Pritchard called it a "mixed beginning" due to several passing mistakes. On 29 November, manager Paul Clement substituted Sanches at half-time in a 1–0 loss to Chelsea after he had played a pass into the advertising boards on the side of the pitch, believing it to be a teammate.

Sanches won 40 caps and scored 8 goals for Portugal at youth level. He made his full international debut in March 2016 and was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016 at age 18, making him the youngest Portuguese to play in an international tournament as well as the youngest player to win a UEFA Euro final. He scored one goal during the competition and won the Young Player of the Tournament as Portugal captured the title for the first time in their history.

On 10 May 2016, Sanches signed a five-year contract effective from 1 July with German club Bayern Munich for €35 million, in a deal totalling €80 million, with the additional €45 million contingent on objectives. With this transfer, he became the most expensive Portuguese player to leave the domestic league, as well as the first Portuguese player to join the Bavarian side. The initial fee was the fourth-highest paid in Bayern Munich's history, after those for Javi Martínez, Mario Götze and Arturo Vidal. Sanches had been tracked extensively by Manchester United before joining Bayern, and their Portuguese former player Nani said they would regret not completing a transfer for him.

On 18 March 2016, Sanches was called up by Fernando Santos for the senior squad to play friendlies against Bulgaria and Belgium. He debuted for Portugal as a 76th-minute substitute for William Carvalho in the 0–1 loss against Bulgaria in Leiria, and shortly after he was greeted by a fan who invaded the pitch.

Sanches was called-up for UEFA Euro 2016, making him the youngest Portuguese to be selected for an international competition, breaking a record held by Cristiano Ronaldo for 12 years. Sanches made his competitive debut on 14 June in the team's opening match against Iceland in Saint-Étienne, replacing João Moutinho for the final 19 minutes of a 1–1 draw. He contributed to the only goal of the match in a 1–0 extra-time victory in the round of 16 against Croatia on 25 June, and was elected man of the match. Observing that performance, former Portuguese international António Sousa said, "When he's on the ball you don't notice how young he is. Physically and mentally, he is more than ready," while Fernando Santos exalted Sanches as a player immune to pressure.

Sanches and striker Eder were notable Euro 2016 winners omitted from Portugal's squad for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia; Sanches played in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship instead. He was also absent from the 35-man preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

However, in an interview to Benfica TV, Sanches compared his style with that of another Dutchman of Davids' era, Clarence Seedorf. During Euro 2016, former Benfica and Netherlands player Pierre van Hooijdonk also drew comparison with Seedorf, saying "the way [they] play is the same, the intensity also".

Opponents of Sanches have claimed he is older than his birth certificate states, basing their judgement on the gap between his birth and its registration. In March 2016, as Sporting CP challenged Benfica for the league title, Sporting's then-president Bruno de Carvalho accused Sanches of lying about his age. Sanches requested Carvalho publicly apologise or face a lawsuit for defamation. During Euro 2016, French former manager Guy Roux made a similar accusation.

On 8 July 2016, the hospital where Sanches was born published the document which proved he was born on 18 August 1997 at 15:25 local time.

After one year with the reserve team, in 2015–16, Sanches was promoted to the first team, initially only for the training sessions. He remained playing in the reserves, and on 30 August 2015, he scored his first goal in their 2–1 loss at Varzim, opening the scoring within two minutes. Seventeen days later, he scored two penalty kicks in a 3–2 loss at Desportivo das Aves. On 21 October, in the UEFA Youth League, he scored in an away 11–1 group stage win over Galatasaray. Nine days later, Sanches made his debut for the first team, replacing striker Jonas in the 74th minute of a 4–0 win against Tondela.

After the international break in November 2015, Sanches signed a new contract with Benfica until 2021, with a release clause set at €45 million. On 25 November, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up, playing 90 minutes in a 2–2 away draw with Astana in the UEFA Champions League group stage. On the following Monday, Sanches started again, this time in a Primeira Liga win at Braga, receiving praise from the media for his performance. Aged 18, on 4 December, he scored his first goal for Benfica, beating Académica's goalkeeper Trigueira with a 30-metre strike and sealing the 3–0 league win. In so doing, he became Benfica's youngest player to score a home goal in the 21st century, at the Estádio da Luz. It was selected as the Goal of the Month.

Sanches began his career at Benfica, making his professional debut for the reserves in October 2014 and for the first team in October 2015. In his first and only season with them, he helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga double, being awarded Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player and Golden Boy in the process.

Sanches made his professional debut in the 2014–15 campaign, with the B-team in the second division. He made his first appearance in the competition on 5 October 2014, starting and playing the first half of the 2–2 away draw against Feirense. He was sent off twice with straight red cards in the second half of the season: as a substitute in a 3–2 home win over Porto B on 11 January 2015, and a starter in a 1–1 draw at Santa Clara on 7 March.

Sanches gained 40 caps for Portugal all youth categories comprised. He represented Portugal in the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping them reach the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners, England. He was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Sanches added a second goal on 2 January, the match's only at Vitória de Guimarães in the league. On 24 April, he was a target of racism by some Rio Ave supporters who made monkey noises when he was leaving the pitch after a 1–0 away victory. He responded to the provocation with a smile and moved his arms, mimicking a monkey. On 8 May, Sanches was sent off for a second yellow card in the first half of a 2–0 win at Marítimo, missing Benfica's last league match in which they retained their title at the expense of city rivals Sporting CP with victory over Nacional. In his last match, the 2016 Taça da Liga Final in Coimbra on 20 May, Benfica won the league cup 6–2 against Marítimo.

After recovering from a thigh injury, Sanches made his debut on 9 September, starting in a 2–0 win at Schalke 04 in place of Arturo Vidal. Although he made errors in his 71 minutes before being replaced by Joshua Kimmich, he was given reassurance by captain Phillip Lahm and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, with the former saying, "He's a very, very good player, otherwise he wouldn't be here. He's a European champion and will definitely be an asset to us in the future." On 24 October, he became the first Portuguese player to win the Golden Boy award for best European player under the age of 21, ahead of Manchester United's Marcus Rashford.

Five days later in the quarter-finals against Poland, Sanches overtook Ronaldo's record as the youngest Portuguese to start in a major tournament. After a one-two with Nani, Sanches shot from outside the box and equalised in the first half to become the youngest player to score in a knockout match at a UEFA European Championship and the third-youngest overall. Following the 1–1 draw, he scored Portugal's second attempt in their penalty shootout victory, and was again elected man of the match. Following the match, teammates Nani and José Fonte praised Sanches' stamina, confidence and desire to learn from his elders. After his nation's 1–0 extra-time victory over hosts France in the final of the tournament, Sanches received the Young Player of the Tournament Award for his performances.

Sanches started training in football at Águias da Musgueira at age eight, and joined Benfica's youth system in 2006 at age nine. The team paid €750 and 25 footballs for his signature. He convinced Benfica to take him after training with them for 15 minutes, but he initially had reservations about travelling to their academy in Seixal every day, on the other side of the Tagus river.

Sanches was born in the Hospital Amadora-Sintra in the Lisbon metropolitan area, to a father also named Renato Sanches, from São Tomé and Príncipe, and a mother named Maria das Dores, from Cape Verde. Nicknamed Bulo by his grandmother, he grew up in the impoverished Lisbon neighbourhood of Musgueira. His parents split up months after his birth, and his father moved to work in France; Sanches' birth was not registered until his father returned in 2002 and the parents had him baptised. He was registered on 22 August 2002 with the birthdate of 3:25 p.m. on 18 August 1997.

Renato Júnior Luz Sanches ComM (Portuguese pronunciation:  [ʁɨˈnatu ˈsɐ̃ʃɨʒ] ; born 18 August 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Lille and the Portugal national team.