Bayern Munich have confirmed the sale of Renato Sanches to French side Lille in a deal worth a reported €20m (£18.1m).
Sanches has put pen to paper on a four-year deal running until the summer of 2023 and brings to an end a three-year stint at Bayern.
The Bundesliga champions signed Sanches from Benfica in a deal worth an initial €35m (£31.6m) following his eye-catching displays for Portugal at Euro 2016.
Sanches was named Golden Boy in 2016 as a result but his reputation has nose-dived since then following three tough years with Bayern.
The 22-year-old made no impression during his first season at Bayern before being loaned out to then-Premier League side Swansea for the 2017/18 campaign.
Sanches’ fortunes did not improve at Swansea and he returned to Bayern last season where he made just four league starts.
Philippe Coutinho’s arrival from Barcelona pushed Sanches further down the pecking order and now he has secured a permanent move away.
Lille finished runners-up in Ligue 1 last season but have lost key players over the summer like Nicolas Pepe, Rafael Leao and Thiago Mendes.
Christophe Galtier’s side have recouped around £130m in player sales this summer and have used that money to improve their squad depth.
Sanches is the 11th player Lille have signed this summer and takes their summer spending spree to around the £75m-mark.
The Portugal international started only 10 league games for Bayern and made a further 25 appearances from the bench in the Bundesliga.
Sanches has started only four league games since the beginning of last season and Bayern failed to win any of those matches (D3, L1).
