Manchester United boss José Mourinho has explained why he missed out on signing Renato Sanches from Benfica.
In an interview with the Portuguese TV channel Sport TV, the manager admitted he didn’t have time to make the transfer.
“I arrived late. I signed in May, we started talking a week before, but completely out of the process… If I had arrived earlier, I’d fight for him.
“Manchester United watched Renato many times and maybe I did it even more. In so much time at home, I watched many Benfica and Portuguese league games, I got to know the boy better with time.
“He’s in a a big club, in a league where he’ll certainly be the champion – he’d be here as well, he will play the Champions… the club have players of very high level which belong to the structure, a little like Benfica.”
After only 24 official appearances as a professional, Sanches left Benfica for Bayern for €35m, with add-ons which could reach up to €25m. He’s only 18 years old.
Manchester United had reportedly been very interested in the deal, and for a long time looked the likeliest destination, but Bayern Munich swooped in and got the deal done very quickly indeed.
