Portugal legend Nuno Gomes has given quite a long interview to Goal this week, where he spoke a lot about his career, Benfica and Portuguese football in general.
The former striker was never out of words for any of the questions, and some of his opinions on unusual subjects were quite interesting to read.
A couple of these questions were about Renato Sanches, who’s currently spending a season long loan at Swansea City from Bayern Munich.
The general opinion in Portugal is that Sanches was never ready to leave Benfica when sold to the German side in a €35m deal, even though the Eagles could never turn down such a bid for an 18-year-old.
“Maybe the mentality, maybe also… I don’t know if Bayern Munich was the best choice, you know? But this is now easy to talk about. It did not work, although I believe it will still work, even at Bayern Munich itself.
“Despite being a great player, having been champion with Benfica and Europe with the national team, we are talking about a player of only 18, 19 years. Often the structure shakes. When success goes from one day to the next, things change from 8 to 80. It takes a strong structure, people who are around us, friends who are perhaps not friends… I don’t know if it was with Renato Sanches, but often these things can happen.”
“In technical terms, Bayern Munich may not have been the best team to have gone to. It was a very big requirement, with a very strong squad, especially in the midfield, and Renato may not have coexisted very well with the question of being champion for Benfica, the champion with the national team, and then suddenly sitting on the bench and sometimes not even called up for the games.
“Maybe it was not the situation he expected, and with that, confidence eventually fell. It may have been there that Renato is not currently on the level we might have expected. But he has not lost quality, is an excellent player, owner of a bright future ahead. I think that with Carlos Carvalhal, a manager who knows him well, Renato will gradually return to being the Renato Sanches we know.”
“Today Swansea is a good option for him. In general, in the world of football, sometimes it is better to take a step back and then take two steps forward.”
