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Bayern sell Sanches to Lille for reported €20M fee

Jörg Schüler / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Renato Sanches' lackluster spell at Bayern Munich came to an end Friday as the Portuguese midfielder was sold to Lille, the clubs announced.

Sanches put pen to paper on a five-year deal with Les Dogues.

A transfer fee was not announced but a report earlier Friday suggested the French club paid Bayern a club-record fee of €20 million to secure the 22-year-old's services.

Sanches ultimately failed to live up to expectations during his three-year spell in Bavaria. After moving to the Allianz Arena from Benfica for €35 million in 2016, Sanches was unable to lock down regular playing time and only managed to make 53 appearances. He spent the 2017-18 campaign on loan at Swansea City.

"Renato Sanches asked us to agree to the transfer because he wanted to join a club where he can play on a regular basis," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Unfortunately, we were unable to guarantee that at FC Bayern. Match practice is also important to him because he wants a place in the Portugal squad for Euro 2020. I would like to thank Renato for his performances, and on behalf of FC Bayern I wish him all the best for the future."

Sanches' arrival tops Lille's previous club-record fee of €16.5 million paid to Trabzonspor earlier this month for Turkish midfielder Yusuf Yazici.

These purchases have been funded by the €150 million made from player sales this summer, including the €80-million transfer of Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal.

Lille will compete in the Champions League for the first time since the 2012-13 season after finishing second in Ligue 1 last season behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.

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