Renato Sanches Departs Bayern Munich For Lille
Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches has joined French Ligue 1 club Lille on a five-year deal for a reported fee of €25 million.
After impressing for Portugal at the Euro 2016, Sanches was considered as one of the promising stars in the sport as he joined Bayer Munich from Benfica.
But having arrived at the Allianz Arena, the 22-year-old has failed to live up to expectations as he was loaned to Swansea City, where he also had a torrid spell.
Enjoying limited first-team opportunities, Sanches opted for an exit from the Bundesliga champions, insisting the German giants have refused to offload him on three occasions.
Coming off the bench to feature for just five minutes against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga opener, Sanches, who has been angling to join a side where he will be given more playing time has now joined Lille on a loan deal.
Expressing the midfielder's eagerness to exit the club, Bayern's chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said;
"Renato Sanches asked us to transfer because he wanted to join a club where he would like more games.
"Unfortunately, we could not guarantee him this at Bayern. Match practice is also important to him because he wants to claim his place in the Portuguese national team for Euro 2020.
"I would like to thank Renato for his achievements and wish him all the best for his future on behalf of Bayern."
Sanches, who is happy to arrive at Lille also added;
"My wish was to join Lille so I'm really happy to be here," Sanches told Lille's official website. "I was very well received and I hope everything will be fine for me.
"I have been in contact with [sporting director] Luis Campos for a long time already. His words and the project they carry with [president] Gerard Lopez convinced me, as did the confidence they show in me.
"I talked a lot with Jose Fonte, I always got on well with him. I do not know all my other team-mates well, but I cannot wait to meet them all. Go LOSC!"
