Biography
Who is Renato Sanches?
Early life and family
Renato Sanches was born at Hospital Amadora-Sintra in Lisbon. His father, also named Renato Sanches, comes from São Tomé and Príncipe. His mother, Maria das Dores, is from Cape Verde. He grew up in the Musgueira area of Lisbon. His parents separated shortly after he was born. His father worked in France for several years. Because of this, Renato was not registered until 2002. He was officially registered on August 22, 2002.
He began training at Águias da Musgueira when he was eight. In 2006, he joined the youth system at Benfica. The club paid 750 euros and gave 25 balls for his signing. He convinced the team to take him after a 15 minute training session. He initially worried about the daily travel to the Seixal academy.
Rise at Benfica
Renato made his professional debut for Benfica B on October 5, 2014. He played the first half of a match against Feirense. In the 2015-16 season, he moved to the first team. He scored his first goal for the senior squad on December 4, 2015. This goal came against Académica from a 30 metre strike. He became the youngest Benfica player to score a home goal in the 21st century.
He helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga and the Taça da Liga. During this time, he earned the Golden Boy award. He also won the Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player title. On May 20, 2016, he played in the league cup final against Marítimo. Benfica won that match 6-2.
Moves to Bayern Munich and Lille
Bayern Munich signed Renato in July 2016 for 35 million euros. This was a record fee for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. He debuted for the German club on September 9, 2016, against Schalke 04. He played 25 matches in his first season but did not score. He spent time on loan at Swansea City in August 2017.
In August 2019, he joined the French club Lille for 25 million euros. This was the most expensive signing in the history of Lille. He helped the team win the Ligue 1 title in the 2020-21 season. This victory ended a 10 year drought for the club.
Recent career and international success
In 2022, Renato moved to Paris Saint-Germain for 10 million euros. He later spent a season on loan at the Italian club Roma. He returned to Benfica on loan in 2024.
Internationally, he played 40 games and scored 8 goals for Portuguese youth teams. He debuted for the senior national team in March 2016. He was part of the UEFA Euro 2016 squad at age 18. This made him the youngest person from Portugal in an international tournament. He also became the youngest player to win a UEFA Euro final match. He scored one goal in the tournament and won the Young Player of the Tournament award. He holds the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of Portugal.
Birthday and age
Renato Sanches was born on August 18, 1997, which makes Renato 29 years old today. That birthday falls under the Leo sign. Renato shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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