According to a report by French newspaper L’Equipe on July 17th, at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), while several players including Renato Sanches have undergone medical examinations and returned to the team, the club management has made it clear that they are no longer part of the team’s plans for the upcoming season. Therefore, Sanches and a few other players are not allowed to join head coach Enrique’s regular training squad but have been placed in a separate second training group for special workouts.
The establishment of this training group aims to ensure that these fringe players can maintain their competitive fitness while also facilitating their search for new clubs.
Once upon a time, Renato Sanches was among the most prominent young talents in global football. This Portuguese midfielder, born in 1997, honed his skills in Benfica’s youth development system before quickly rising to the first team. In 2016, at the age of just 19, Sanches was awarded the “Golden Boy” prize, an accolade reserved for the world’s most outstanding young player.
In the 2016-17 season, Sanches joined Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich for a hefty transfer fee of €35 million. However, his journey at the top club did not go as smoothly as expected. In his first season at Bayern, Sanches only managed to make 17 appearances, demonstrating a clear lack of competitiveness. In the following half-season, he continued to struggle to secure a spot in the starting lineup. Eventually, he was briefly loaned out to Premier League side Swansea, but injuries and professionalism issues led to a significant decline in his performance.
Before the 2019-20 season, Sanches left Bayern and moved to French side Lille. At Lille, he endured the test of injury but returned with tenacity, gradually regaining form and became a mainstay in the team’s midfield for a period. In the 2022-23 season, Sanches once again stepped through the doors of a major club, joining Paris Saint-Germain, but he fell short again in the fierce competition for a starting position.
In the 2023-24 season, Sanches was loaned to Roma, where despite his best efforts, he failed to recapture his former glory, making only 12 appearances and scoring one goal. From Bayern onwards, Sanches’ professional career seemed to be on a downward trajectory. Now, at PSG, he has become a marginal player. Sanches’ future at PSG is uncertain, and once again, the former European Golden Boy stands at a crossroads in his career.