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| Wonderkid Sanchez |
Full
name: Renato Junior Luz Sanches
Date
of birth: 18 August 1997 (age 18)
Place
of birth: Lisbon, Portugal
Height:
1.76 m (5 ft 9 ½ inches)
Nationality:
Portugal
Born
in Lisbon to
parents from Cape Verde, Sanches started training in football at
Águias da Musgueira when he was 8. He joined S.L.
Benfica's youth system in 2006, aged 9.
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.
After one year with the reserve team, in 2015–16, he 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 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 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 the 25th, he
made his first appearance in the starting line-up, playing 90 minutes in a 2–2
away draw with Astana for the UEFA Champions League's group stage. On the
following Monday, Sanches started again in an away win in 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, in a 3–0 Primeira
Liga win, and 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.
He
added a second goal on 2 January, the game'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 match in the league.
Bayern Munich
On 10 May 2016, Sanches signed a
five-year contract effective 1 July with German club Bayern
Munich for €35 million, in a deal totalling €80 million, with the
additional €45 million depending 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.
International Career
On 18 March 2016, he 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.
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