Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao joins Sporting Lisbon on loan
Wednesday 5 July 2017 15:55, UK
Real Madrid full-back Fabio Coentrao has joined Sporting Lisbon on a season-long loan.
Coentrao has played 106 games in five full seasons with Real, having spent the 2015/16 campaign on loan at Monaco.
He was signed by Real from Benfica in 2011 for 30million euros, and is now heading back to his native Portugal.
"I'm very happy to have the chance to play at this great club," he said on Twitter.
He will be looking to resurrect a career that has been blighted by injury in his second loan spell away from the Spanish capital.
He has never played more than 20 league games in a single season, but at Real he has won two La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and a Copa del Rey.
He has made 51 appearances for Portugal, although a thigh injury prevented him from taking part in his country's victorious Euro 2016 campaign.
Following an injury-ravaged season at Monaco, where he played 15 league games, Coentrao returned to Madrid last summer.
He made six appearances in all competitions last season but was left out of the squad for the Champions League final victory over Juventus.