Career
Born in Lisbon, Sanches started training football at Águias da Musgueira when he was 8. He joined South.L. Benfica"s youth system in 2006, aged 9. Sanches made his professional debut in the 2014-2015 campaign, with the B-team in the second division.
He made his first appearance in the competition on 5 October 2014, starting and playing 46 minutes in the 2–2 away draw against Communicative Disorders Feirense.
After one year with the reserve team, in 2015-2016, he was promoted to the first team Initially only for the training sessions.
After the international break in November 2015, Sanches signed a new contract with Benfica until 2021, with a release clause set at €45 million. On the 25th, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up, playing 90 minutes in a 2–2 away draw with Astana for the Union of European Football Associations Champions League"s group stage.
On 2 January 2016, he scored the winning goal at Vitória de Guimarães in the league.
Sanches gained 40 caps for Portugal all youth categories comprised. He represented Portugal in the 2014 Union of European Football Associations European Under-17 Championship, helping them reach the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners, England. On 18 March 2016, he was called-up by Fernando Santos for the senior squad to play friendlies against Bulgaria and Belgium.
Sanches procured a Portugal A-team debut in a 0-1 loss against Bulgaria on March 25, 2016.