Paris Saint-Germain have completed the deal for Lille midfielder Renato Sanches for a reported €15m deal.
The Portugal international becomes the Ligue 1 champions’ fifth signing of the summer after the permanent additions of Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Nordi Mukiele and Hugo Ekitike.
According to reports, Sanches joins on a five-year contract until 2027.
The Portuguese made a name for himself as a teenager at Benfica while helping Portugal win the 2016 European Championship. He was a standout young player in the competition attracting the interest of Europe’s biggest clubs.
He later joined Bayern Munich in a deal worth up to €80m but never really impressed at the Allianz Arena. He was sent out on loan to Premier League side Swansea but failed to impress before he was bought by Lille, where he found his feet again and won the French league under current PSG boss Christophe Galtier.
So this will be Sanches’ second spell working with Galtier, who will look to pair him in midfield alongside Vitinha, Marco Verratti and Danilo Pereira.
The Frenchman and Luis Campos were a big reason why the Portuguese midfielder chose PSG over AC Milan, who were also interested in his services.
“I’m sure that I’ve made the right choice by signing for the club,” Sanches told the PSG website.
“I chose Paris Saint-Germain because I think that it’s the best project for me.
“Staying in France was important to me, as I know this league already.”
Speaking about the signing of Sanches to the media, PSG coach Christophe Galtier discussed what he brings to the team.
“Renato has qualities that others in our squad don’t have,” he said.
“He’s a very explosive player, hard-hitting, with impact. There was this opportunity in the market to take a very high-level player, who knows the French championship.
“He will have to integrate. He arrives late. He has played little in pre-season. He will be late compared to his teammates. But he is different in his ability to break lines and recover balls.”
