In so doing, he became Benfica's youngest player to score a home goal in the 21st century, at the Estádio da Luz.
It was selected as the Goal of the Month.
Sanches added a second goal on 2 January, the match's only at Vitória de Guimarães in the league.
On 24 April, he was a target of racism by some Rio Ave supporters, who made monkey noises when he was leaving the pitch after a 1–0 away victory.
He responded to the provocation with a smile and moved his arms, mimicking a monkey.
On 8 May, Sanches was sent off for a second yellow card in the first half of a 2–0 win at Marítimo, missing Benfica's last league match in which they retained their title at the expense of city rivals Sporting CP with victory over Nacional.
1974
Nine days later, Sanches made his debut for the first team, replacing striker Jonas in the 74th minute of a 4–0 win against Tondela.
1997
Renato Júnior Luz Sanches (born 18 August 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Roma, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Portugal national team.
2002
His parents split up months after his birth, and his father moved to work in France; Sanches' birth was not registered until his father returned in 2002 and the parents had him baptised.
He was registered on 22 August 2002 with the birthdate of 3:25 p.m. on 18 August 1997.
2006
Sanches started training in football at Águias da Musgueira at age eight, and joined Benfica's youth system in 2006 at age nine.
The team paid €750 and 25 footballs for his signature.
He convinced Benfica to take him after training with them for 15 minutes, but he initially had reservations about travelling to their academy in Seixal every day, on the other side of the Tagus river.
2014
Sanches began his career at Benfica, making his professional debut for the reserves in October 2014 and for the first team in October 2015.
In his first and only season with them, he helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga and Taça da Liga double, being awarded Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player and Golden Boy in the process.
Sanches made his professional debut in the 2014–15 campaign, with the B-team in the second division.
He made his first appearance in the competition on 5 October 2014, starting and playing the first half of the 2–2 away draw against Feirense.
2015
He was sent off twice with straight red cards in the second half of the season: as a substitute in a 3–2 home win over Porto B on 11 January 2015, and a starter in a 1–1 draw at Santa Clara on 7 March.
After one year with the reserve team, in 2015–16, Sanches was promoted to the first team, initially only for the training sessions.
He remained playing in the reserves, and on 30 August 2015, he scored his first goal in their 2–1 loss at Varzim, opening the scoring within two minutes.
Seventeen days later, he scored two penalty kicks in a 3–2 loss at Desportivo das Aves.
On 21 October, in the UEFA Youth League, he scored in an away 11–1 group stage win over Galatasaray.
After the international break in November 2015, Sanches signed a new contract with Benfica until 2021, with a release clause set at €45 million.
On 25 November, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up, playing 90 minutes in a 2–2 away draw with Astana in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
On the following Monday, Sanches started again, this time in a Primeira Liga win at Braga, receiving praise from the media for his performance.
Aged 18, on 4 December, he scored his first goal for Benfica, beating Académica's goalkeeper Trigueira with a 30-metre strike and sealing the 3–0 league win.
2016
Sanches' performances then attracted German side Bayern Munich, who signed him in July 2016 for an initial €35 million, the highest fee at the time for a Portuguese player playing in the Primeira Liga.
He made his full international debut in March 2016 and was chosen for UEFA Euro 2016 at age 18, making him the youngest Portuguese to play in an international tournament as well as the youngest player to win a UEFA Euro final.
He scored one goal during the competition and won the Young Player of the Tournament as Portugal captured the title for the first time in their history.
Sanches was born in the Hospital Amadora-Sintra in the Lisbon metropolitan area, to a father also named Renato Sanches, from São Tomé and Príncipe, and a mother named Maria das Dores, from Cape Verde.
Nicknamed Bulo by his grandmother, he grew up in the impoverished Lisbon neighbourhood of Musgueira.
In his last match, the 2016 Taça da Liga Final in Coimbra on 20 May, Benfica won the league cup 6–2 against Marítimo.
On 10 May 2016, Sanches signed a five-year contract effective from 1 July with German club Bayern Munich for €35 million, in a deal totalling €80 million, with the additional €45 million contingent on objectives.
With this transfer, he became the most expensive Portuguese player to leave the domestic league, as well as the first Portuguese player to join the Bavarian side.
The initial fee was the fourth-highest paid in Bayern Munich's history, after those for Javi Martínez, Mario Götze and Arturo Vidal.
Sanches had been tracked extensively by Manchester United before joining Bayern, and their Portuguese former player Nani said they would regret not completing a transfer for him.
2017
His performances fell during his first season with the club, leading him to be loaned to Premier League side Swansea City in August 2017.
2018
After remaining as a substitute, following his return to Bayern in 2018, he was signed by French Ligue 1 side Lille in August 2019 for a reported fee of €25 million, becoming Lille's most expensive signing ever.
2020
In his second season at the club, he helped the team win the 2020–21 Ligue 1, which ended the club's 10-year league title drought.
Sanches won 40 caps and scored 8 goals for Portugal at youth level.
