Renato Sanches gave an extensive interview to this Friday’s edition of the newspaper A Bola, in which he broke his silence regarding his plans to continue his career, at a time when he is free from contract, following his termination with Paris Saint-Germain, a club that, in 2022, paid 15 million euros to Lille for his pass.
“I went through difficult times and had some injuries. Everyone goes through less good phases. In football, there are players who suffer injuries and some end up having more physical problems than others. Unfortunately, I had injuries that I wish I hadn’t had, but none of them happened due to a lack of professionalism”, he began by stating.
“It was precisely my professionalism that allowed me to play for some of the best clubs in Europe. All these clubs know Renato’s work. That’s why I’m completely calm about the injuries, because I know it was a phase. There are people who go through more difficult times than others, and I believe that that phase of my life is over”, he continued.
“In January, I intend to return to action and that’s what will happen. I want to return well, represent a club in the best possible way, with the greatest desire in the world to do what I love most”, added the 29-year-old player, who, remember, was given as a practically certain reinforcement for Estrela da Amadora, last summer.
“Rui Vitória always made me feel at ease”
In this interview, Renato Sanches also praised the role that Rui Vitória had in his career: “When manager Rui Vitória arrived at Benfica, I was on the B team, and things happened quickly. I was very excited to have the opportunity to train with the main team and face them in training games, and I tried to do my best”.
“He trained me as if I were in the game, and the way the coach treated me was very important, as he was a very calm person and left me very comfortable and free to play my game and demonstrate my skills in training. I think it was precisely this way of dealing with me that gave me confidence”, he pointed out.
“He always made me feel at ease, but that confidence was also a result of what I showed in training and what I had shown previously. I think I managed to give him confidence, and, therefore, he was also relatively calm about me. I always had a close and honest relationship with the manager and his family”, he added.
“Often, after games, I would say hello to my wife and daughters. Above all, as I grew up and became a man, I realized that, in addition to the relationship between coach and player, there was also a friendship between us. And there was also always a very good relationship with the players on the team. And that often makes the difference”, he concluded.
“I helped open a door for Benfica’s youth players”
For Renato Sanches, it was precisely the arrival of Rui Vitória that “opened the door to Benfica’s formation”: “I think he was fundamental in that aspect, in enhancing Benfica’s formation and deserves the merit of having been one of the few coaches, up until that point, to give opportunities to youth players to show their value in the main team”.
“It was from there that a new story began in the relationship between Benfica and its youth players. I feel that, in a way, I helped open a door for youth players to reach the main team. I’m not saying I was the only one, but, after me, many more players started to have opportunities to join the main team”, he said.
«In the past, it was mainly South American and Serbian players who had the opportunity to reach the first team, at least when I was at the club. After that, with my arrival, with the arrival of Rúben Dias, Ferro and other players from the Benfica squad, many young people had that ambition again, because they realized and saw that it was possible to get there”, he concluded.
