The 'One in a Billion' generation has produced its latest gem – and the Premier League's biggest diamond collector has snapped it up.
In recent 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 £29.6m move to Manchester City, a fee that makes him the most expensive Brazilian defender in history and the latest windfall for Brazil's 12-time champions.
Within Palmeiras they have been waiting for this talent to mature. In 2022, Joao Paulo Sampaio, the club's youth coordinator, claimed that they would have to accept that they were 'incompetent' if they did not get £200 million (1.5 billion Brazilian reais) from the emerging players.
Three years later, the combined transfer fees are almost exactly that amount – and the production line is not at a standstill. There are more to come, such as Fellipe Jack, a defender on loan at Como in Italy, and Thalys, a striker still in the academy ranks.
Reis turned 19 less than two weeks ago. His football journey began in the city where he was born, Sao Jose dos Campos, and he joined Palmeiras academy in 2016 at the age of 10. He can play as a left back or as a centre-back, something that suits City who have used Josko. Gvardiol and Nathan Aké in similar roles.
Reis sees Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos as an influence on his playing style, while his class also draws comparisons with ex-Chelsea man Thiago Silva – another former PSG star, who is still going strong at 40. He is regarded as a leader by his companions, and it has not gone unnoticed that Marquinhos and Silva both captained the national team.
He is fast, comfortable with the ball at his feet, able to cover the other players on his side and win a running contest with the opponent's attackers. Due to his young age, Reis is not very physically strong, but he can already compete in the air. In his younger years he played as a number 10, but he always envisioned himself as a defender.
People close to him also expect him to quickly adapt to a new country and culture, because he left home very young.
Reis comes from a middle-class family, where both his parents Sandro and Ana Maria work and his mother accompanies him for most of his career.
He captained 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 get him to stay until mid-year to play a crucial role in the Club World Cup, but City wanted him for the rest of this season after he suffered injuries this season to the likes of John Stones . and Nathan Ake. He will wear jersey number 22.
'City likes to play with the ball and I like that too. I think it's my style of play,” the teenager said when he was unveiled.
“City have already shown confidence in me by hiring me, so I already have a lot of confidence in them. You can be sure that I will leave everything on the pitch, I have a lot of will and determination.'
Reis's pace will allow Rico Lewis to invert more and get involved in the build-up play, as the Brazilian could cover him if the ball is played in behind Lewis.
He leaves for Manchester with Palmeiras' best wishes.
“The youth system is doing its job,” Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira said last week. “And the senior team is doing what is right for them: letting the boy play against Flamengo, in crucial games, against Botafogo home and away.
“When people from the other side of the Atlantic call you to ask about Vitor Reis… you remember that Guardiola didn't know Palmeiras very well during the first Club World Cup, I think he knows now.”
Ahead of the 2022 Club World Cup final between River Plate and Chelsea, City boss Guardiola incorrectly said River had won the 2021 Copa Libertadores, stating 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 find out more about them.
Ironically, it was Guardiola who helped launch this new era at Palmeiras. The Brazilian side had decided to start building a strong academy from 2015 and the first big dividend came when Gabriel Jesus moved to east Manchester for £27m a year later, on the eve of Guardiola's first season in charge left.
Jesus' £45m move to Arsenal in 2022 also delivered a windfall for the Brazilians as they included a five per cent sell-on fee. They also get an extra two percent on a FIFA solidarity mechanism for being the club that raised him.
Thanks to that, Palmeiras has continued to invest and produce the 'One in a Billion' talent that keeps the money flowing in from the other side of the Atlantic.
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