Renato Júnior Luz Sanches (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁɨˈnatu ˈsɐ̃ʃɨʃ]; born 18 August 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
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' performances then attracted German side Bayern Munich, who signed him in July 2016 for an initial €35 million, the highest fee at the time for a Portuguese player playing in the Primeira Liga. His performances fell during his first season with the club, leading him to be loaned to Premier League side Swansea City in August 2017. After remaining as a substitute, following his return to Bayern in 2018, he was signed by French Ligue 1 side Lille in August 2019 for a reported fee of €25 million, becoming Lille's most expensive signing ever. In his second season at the club, he helped the team win the 2020–21 Ligue 1, which ended the club's 10-year league title drought. In 2022, he was transferred to Ligue 1 rivals Paris Saint-Germain for €10 million. After a season, he was loaned to Italian club Roma. He returned to Benfica on loan in 2024.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
While Bayern won the Bundesliga, Sanches played only 25 matches across all competitions and did not record a single goal or assist. He started just four league games and playing the entirety of only one. Sanches had to compete with more experienced players like Arturo Vidal, Thiago and Xabi Alonso for playing time. It did not help Sanches that Bayern's manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has a reputation of not relying on young players. Sky Deutschland reporter Torben Hoffman said, "He has had problems with the language and found it hard to integrate with the team. There is also a lot of competition for places at Bayern." Former Bayern player Lothar Matthäus named him among the three worst players of the season, while Sanches himself said he was disappointed by his performances; however, manager Carlo Ancelotti said he would remain at the Allianz Arena for the following season.
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.