The ‘One in a Billion’ generation has produced its latest gem – and the Premier League’s biggest collector of diamonds has snapped him up.
In the last few years, Palmeiras have sold Endrick to Real Madrid, Estevao Willian to Chelsea, Luis Guilherme to West Ham, Danilo to Nottingham Forest and the excellently named Kevin to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Now, 19-year-old centre back Vitor Reis has completed a £29.6million move to Manchester City, a fee which makes him the most expensive Brazilian defender in history and the latest windfall for the 12-time champions of Brazil.
Inside Palmeiras, they have been waiting for this crop of talent to mature. In 2022, the club’s youth coordinator Joao Paulo Sampaio claimed they would have to accept they were ‘incompetent’ if they did not reach £200m (1.5billion Brazilian reais) from the players emerging.
Three years on, the combined transfer fees add up to almost exactly that figure – and the production line has not stopped. More is on the way, such as Fellipe Jack, a defender on loan at Como in Italy, and Thalys, a forward still in the academy ranks.
Reis turned 19 less than two weeks ago. His footballing journey started in the city he was born, Sao Jose dos Campos, and he joined the Palmeiras academy at the age of 10 in 2016. He can play at left back as well as centre back, something that suits City who have used Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake in similar roles.
Brazilian defender Vitor Reis, 19, completed a £29.6million move to Manchester City this week
Over the last few years, Brazil club Palmeiras have sold a generational crop of talent, including Endrick (above) to Real Madrid, Estevao Willian to Chelsea and Luis Guilherme to West Ham
Reis (right) is the latest talent to emerge from the Brazil giants, having only just turned 19
Reis sees Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos as an influence on his playing style, while there are also comparisons with ex-Chelsea man Thiago Silva – another former PSG star, who is still going strong at 40 – because of his class. He is considered a leader by his companions, and it has not gone unnoticed that Marquinhos and Silva both captained the national team.
He is quick, comfortable with the ball on his feet, capable of covering the other players on his side and winning a foot race with opposing forwards. Due to his young age, Reis is not physically very strong, but he can compete in the air already. In his younger days, he played as a No 10, but always envisioned that he would be a defender.
People close to him also expect him to adapt quickly to a new country and culture because he left home very young.
Reis is from a middle-class family, with both his parents Sandro and Ana Maria working and his mother accompanying him for most of his career.
He was the captain of Brazil at the 2023 Under 17 World Cup, where he faced England and won 2-1. And his professional debut came last June. On his second appearance, his first start, he scored for Palmeiras against their rivals Corinthians.
In total, he made 22 senior appearances as a professional before being sold to Manchester City.
The club tried to make him stay until the middle of the year in order to be a vital point in the Club World Cup, but City wanted him for the rest of this season, having been hurt this season by injuries to the likes of John Stones and Nathan Ake. He will wear the number 22 jersey.
‘City likes to play with the ball and I like that too, I think it’s my style of play,’ said the teenager when he was unveiled.
Reis shares the grass with his team-mates Phil Foden (right) and fellow new signing Abdukodir Khusanov (centre), who joined the Premier League champions for £33milllion this week
He sees Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos (above) as an influence on his playing style
‘City has already shown this confidence in me, wanting to hire me, so I’m already very confident. You can be sure that I will leave everything on the field, I have a lot of desire and determination.’
Reis’ pace will allow Rico Lewis to invert more and get involved in build-up play, as the Brazilian would be able to cover him if the ball is played in behind Lewis.
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He heads off to Manchester with Palmeiras’ best wishes.
‘The youth system does its job,’ said Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira last week. ‘And the senior team does what is good for them – putting the kid to play against Flamengo, in crucial games, against Botafogo home and away.
‘Then, when people from the other side of the Atlantic call you to ask about Vitor Reis… you remember that in the first Club World Cup, Guardiola didn’t know Palmeiras very well, I think he knows now.’
Ahead of the Club World Cup final between River Plate and Chelsea in 2022, City boss Guardiola mistakenly said that River had won the Copa Libertadores in 2021, stating that the Argentine club and Chelsea were the best teams in the world because of their titles.
In fact, Palmeiras were the South American champions that year and Ferreira joked that he would invite him to lunch or dinner to get to know more about them.
Ironically, it was Guardiola who helped to launch this new era at Palmeiras. The Brazilian side had decided to start building a strong academy from 2015 and the first major dividend came when Gabriel Jesus went to east Manchester for £27m a year later on the eve of Guardiola’s first season in charge.
Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira admitted that the youth academy is an integral part of the club
Reis’ pace will allow City’s Rico Lewis (above) to invert more and get involved in build-up play
Jesus’ £45m transfer to Arsenal in 2022 also gave the Brazilians another windfall, as they had included a five per cent sell-on fee. They also get an extra two per cent on a Fifa solidarity mechanism, due to being the club that raised him.
Thanks to that, Palmeiras have continued to invest and churn out the ‘One in a Billion’ talent that keeps the money rolling in from across the Atlantic.
