Bayern sell Sanches to Lille for reported €20M fee
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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