Renato Sanches reveals why he rejected Manchester United in favour of Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich wunderkind Renato Sanches chose the Bavarian giants over Manchester United due to the enticing prospect of playing alongside world-class players at the Allianz Arena. The 19-year-old Portuguese international plumped for Bayern over the Red Devils in the summer of 2016 but has not featured all that regularly under Carlo Ancelotti this season.

Sanches has made just nine starts in all competitions this season and has found his chances of game-time limited due to the likes of Arturo Vidal, Xabi Alonso and Joshua Kimmich being ahead of him in the Bayern pecking order. But despite his prolonged spell among the substitutes, the Euro 2016 winner is happy to be nurtured by his esteemed midfield cohorts and was impressed by the amount of work Bayern Munich put into securing his signature.

"[Bayern] really put in a lot of effort and I immediately got a feeling the people in charge believed in me as a player. That was the decisive factor behind my decision to join," the former Manchester United target was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.

"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."

While Sanches rides high at the top of the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, who are 10 points clear of Red Bull Leipzig, Manchester United are currently fighting what seems like a losing battle for a place in the top four in the Premier League.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho may see fit to prioritise the Europa League over domestic matters in the dying embers of the season, but the Portuguese will want his players to settle a score for him on the pitch when they host Chelsea on Sunday (16 April).