Bayern Munich midfielder hits back at Manchester United manager

Renato Sanches has hit back at Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and revealed he joined Bayern Munich over the Premier League giants to play with world class players.

United heavily scouted Sanches last season but the crossover between sacking Louis van Gaal and appointing Jose Mourinho allowed Bayern to worm their way into the deal and secure the Portugal international’s signature in a deal worth an initial £28m.

However, the teenager has endured a difficult campaign at Bayern and struggled for first-team football, which Mourinho did not hesitate in bringing up when mentioning the youngster in a recent press conference, but Sanches has revealed just why he snubbed United in the summer.

“[Bayern] really put in a lot of effort and I immediately got a feeling the people in charge believed in me as a player,” The Daily Mail quote Sanches as saying. “That was the decisive factor behind my decision to join.

“Ancelotti always looks calm and in charge. You can just see he has a lot of experience. He is getting involved with his players a lot and is helping players to make individual progress.

“But I am also playing alongside a lot of world-class players here. I can learn from all of them, especially from the players who play in midfield like Arturo Vidal, Xabi Alonso and Thiago Alcantara.”

Bayern could eventually pay Benfica a club record £68m for Sanches should the Euro 2016 young player of the tournament fulfil all the achievement and appearance based clauses in the deal that brought him to the Allianz Arena.

However, the 19-year-old has only started five games in the Bundesliga this season and is Bayern’s lowest rated players of those that have started as many matches (6.34).

For more stats on Renato Sanches, click here to visit his WhoScored player page