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Renato Sanches has opened up as to why his alleged move to Barcelona in the summer collapsed at the final hurdle.
As reported by European transfer news guru, Fabrizio Romano, via Twitter, Renato attributed the snag to injury.
Lille's president, Olivier Letang, had ealier in september 2021, talked to La Voix du Nord about this. He said that it was Sanches' knee injury that cost him a lucrative move away from Stade Pierre Mauroy.
“It’s no secret that Renato [Sanches] could have gone, he was allowed to leave. We had almost reached an agreement with a very big club, but obviously his knee injury changed the plan. Now, we’re happy to have Renato still with us and we hope that he comes back as soon as possible.”
Sanches has now revealed to French publication L’Equipe, that the big club in question was Barcelona. He also noted that he was flattered by reported new interest from AC Milan and Arsenal.
"I was supposed to go to Barcelona this summer, but my injury ruined everything. That’s why it collapsed with Barca."
He added:
“Who is interested in me? Maybe Milan and Arsenal are interested, but I don’t know. I talked to my agent, I know which clubs are calling and which are not, but now I can’t tell. But I know I’m ready. If it happens, I’ll see what’s best for me. Milan? It’s a great club, a historic club. The class. I like it."
Arsenal have also been linked to Franck Kessie, who at 24, is of a similar age to Sanches. But the Gunners will have noted the Portuguese international's EPL struggles while on loan at Swansea City in 2017.
Sanches has also suffered an unfortunate spell of injury from the moment he left Benfica. So much that he's missed as many as 39 games through injury since signing for Lille in the 2019 summer window. The Gunners may therefore be well-advised to look elsewhere.
Are barcelona still interested?
Barcelona's recent money problems have been well-documented. In fact, a club that once used to cherry-picking the world's best talents has been reduced to free transfers, loans, and swap deals.
Some of which even mid-table teams would shy away from. Martin Braithwaite and Luuk de Jong are not the biggest names in Europe are they?
The £30m placed on Sanches' head in August could therefore prove to be a major stumbling block. Barca could, however, raise some funds by selling the £75m-rated Frenkie de Jong to fund a much-needed squad overhaul.
But the question still remains. Whether Barcelona's new manager, Xavi, would want a player of Sanches' ilk. He has instead been said to favor players such as former Barca midfielder Thiago Alcantara and Gladbach's Denis Zakaria. They are considered more dependable.
