Who Is Renato Sanches ?

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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 

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.
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.