Error code: %{errorCode}
Renato Sanches' long-awaited Bayern reunion
- Renato Sanches ended his long goal drought against Auckland City
- The midfielder scored in the second half of Benfica’s 6-0 victory
- He will now go up against former club Bayern München in a crucial contest
It had been 640 days. Or nearly two years, if you are counting.
When Renato Sanches stepped onto the pitch in the 61st minute for SL Benfica against Auckland City FC last Friday, he was enduring a long and frustrating goal drought, not having scored in an official match since 19 September, 2023. Then, he was playing for AS Roma, when he scored against Empoli.
Buy Club World Cup tickets
It had been a while, but of course, the midfielder hadn’t forgotten how to find the back of the net. Just two minutes after coming on, he had a stroke of luck when his shot was deflected in, which put an end to that long wait and contributed to Benfica’s 6-0 demolition of the New Zealand side at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™️.
His impact was immediate, exactly as coach Bruno Lage had hoped.
“We knew that, to score more goals, we needed Renato. And he came on and delivered - just two minutes after coming on, he scores,” Lage explained. “In the opener against Boca Juniors, I felt he had to start the game. Against Auckland, we needed to shake up that position by bringing him on.”
Watch Club World Cup matches for free on DAZN
Sanches brought the spark his team needed, helping them reach a comfortable position ahead of their crucial upcoming encounter with FC Bayern München on Tuesday. The Eagles can still progress to the knockout stage even with a defeat, provided CA Boca Juniors don’t overtake their goal difference against Auckland City.
Sanches’ goal was enough to bring smiles back to the faces of Benfica fans, who are hopeful of seeing the same player who made waves in the 2015/16 season, when he helped the Eagles claim the Portuguese league title and, at just 18, played a starring role in Portugal’s UEFA EURO 2016 triumph. He was voted the Young Player of the Tournament, and subsequently sold to Bayern München for a record 35 million euros.
It was just over six months of supersonic growth, which feels like a lifetime ago now, but at 27 years of age, the man wearing Benfica's no. 85 shirt is determined to prove that the best is yet to come.
More than that, he wants to show that his injury record (more than 30 throughout his career, including three this season alone) does not define him.
What better stage to do that than against Bayern, in Charlotte, in the USA?
Now more experienced, Renato has come to terms with the fact that his time at the current German champions didn’t unfold as expected.
Between 2016 and 2019, he made just 53 appearances without ever fully establishing himself - a period also marked by a loan spell at Swansea City AFC.
He couldn’t recapture that free-spirited approach in Munich that had set him apart from his peers early in his career, and which had won over fans and critics alike: bringing the audacity and bravado inherent in street football into a professional environment.
“I chose Bayern because they really wanted me,” said Sanches. “When a club like that comes for you, it’s impossible to say ‘no.’ But the beginning was tough. I went there alone, I was 18, thinking I was ready to take on the challenge on my own, but I know now that I wasn’t.
Eventually, he would leave Munich for Lille.
“I made the right choice going to Bayern, but it was too soon,” he said. “I didn’t expect to go through what I did, like getting injured in my first training session. I felt alone, I was injured, and mentally, that obviously affects you, especially when you’re young.”
As Sanches faces Bayern again, it’s not just a reunion with his past - it could also mark a turning point for his future.
Currently on loan to Benfica from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the season, Sanches is still trying to convince the Lisbon club’s hierarchy to exercise their option to make the deal permanent. No decision has been made about his future just yet.
Nor does he want to say goodbye just yet.
No matter what the future may hold, he will do everything in his power against Bayern to keep his dream of helping the Eagles soar to the top of the Club World Cup podium alive, just as everyone hoped when he first announced his arrival in the team back in 2015.
