What seems to be considered the most expensive transfer in not only Benfica's history but in the Portuguese Liga NOS for a Portuguese born star, Renato Sanches signed on the dotted line earlier today with a move to Bayern Munich on a five year contract which will take him to June 2021. Bayern Munich and SL Benfica have agreed on a 35 million euro transfer move which can end up becoming almost 80 million depending on performance clauses.
The 18 year old midfielder has been a Benfica player for a decade now and just like other "Made In Benfica" or "Made At The Seixal" players like Bernardo Silva, Ivan Cavaleiro, and Marcos Lopes to name a few, Sanches was a raw talent who went for big money and will go onto to bigger leagues and better opportunities. It was only recently that Benfica's President Luis Filipe Viera was recieving an award in Dubai in recognition of Benfica's youth program as being the best in the world. A title in which for many years Sporting CP was often recognized for.
Despite of what critics may speculate, Renato Sanches was born on August 18, 1997 in Lisbon, Portugal. He is of Cape Verdian decent. He spent most of his youth playing soccer on the streets with friends and family. By age 9 he was enrolled in Benfica's youth teams and would eventually become a part of Benfica's senior team. During the 2014/15 season Sanches made his professional debute on Benfica's B team campaign and UEFA Youth League squad. At the beginning of the 2015/16 season Benfica appointed Rui Vitoria as their new coach who advertised from day one that there will be opportunity in Benfica's main squad for youth players as long as they earn their spot. Renato Sanches was slowly integrated into Vitoria's midfield and quickly built a reputation as not giving up and being aggressive yet strategic with his style of football. Sanches also caught the eye of not only Portuguese National Team Head Coach Fernandes Santos but Louis Van Gaal, Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, and of course Carlo Ancelotti.
There are many memorable moments of Sanches while wearing a Benfica jersey. He contributed to the 11-1 UEFA Youth League victory against Galatassaray. There was of course the goal against Academica which got everyone talking. His performance in the Champions League Quarter - Finals against Bayern Munich but his most impressive performance came after a recent game against Rio Ave when he was abused racially by fans. Sanches response shows his humbleness and humility as most players in those circumstances would get emotional, Sanches laughed it off while walking off the pitch.
It is sad that Sanches will not be included in Benfica's next season but the shock value should not be surprising to the Benfica Nation since this move has been reported for most of this year that Sanches leaving was a done deal. The only real shock value in this move was Renato Sanches signed to Bayern Munich when it was guaranteed that he would sign to Manchester United.
Sanches move to Bayern Munich will be a beneficial move for his career. Bayern Munich is one of the biggest clubs in the world with deep pockets who not only dominate the German Bundesliga almost yearly but are always a top team in the UEFA Champions League. Had Sanches move to the English Premier League gone through, he may very well of ended up joining the ranks of Bebe, Anderson, and Nani whose move started off with high hopes and ended up in a bust. A move to Barcelona or Real Madrid currently may only of got him a spot on the bench and not necessarily the starting 11 with the calibur of talent.
Financially, Benfica once again hits the jackpot big with one of their home-grown talents. Sanches is now the first ever Liga NOS player to join Bayern Munich. This deal may not of been so lucrative with such top teams in Serie A or such La Liga teams as Atletico who in the past have created "secret handshake" deals or have deals with Benfica that do not make any sense (i.e Roberto, Raul Jimenez etc.) Benfica receives almost 80 million while Sanches begins another chapter in his career. Even Cristiano Ronaldo's fee from Sporting CP to Manchester United was not even half of this one. Speaking of CR7, I'm sure he may of been a little jealous during this Portugal friendly.
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