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 £29.6 million 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 crop of talent to mature. In 2022, the club's youth coordinator, Joao Paulo Sampaio, stated that they would have to accept that they were “incompetent” if they did not reach the £200 million (1.5 billion Brazilian reais) for emerging players.
Three years later, the combined transfer fees add up to almost exactly that figure, and the production line hasn't stopped. There are more on the way, such as Fellipe Jack, a defender on loan at Como in Italy, and Thalys, a forward still in the ranks of the quarry.
Reis turned 19 less than two weeks ago. His football career began in his hometown, Sao José dos Campos, and he joined the Palmeiras youth academy at the age of 10 in 2016. He can play both as a left back and as a center 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.
In recent years, Brazilian club Palmeiras has 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 Brazilian giants, having just turned 19 years old.
Reis sees Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos as an influence on his playing style, while there are also comparisons to former Chelsea player Thiago Silva, another former PSG star, who is still going strong at 40, due to his class. His teammates consider him a leader and it has not gone unnoticed that Marquinhos and Silva captained the national team.
He is fast, comfortable with the ball at his feet, capable of covering other players on his side and winning a foot race with opposing forwards. Due to his young age, Reis is not very strong physically, but he can already compete in the air. In his youth he played as a number 10, but always imagined 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 at a young age.
Reis comes from a middle class family, his parents Sandro and Ana María work and his mother accompanies him for most of his career.
He was captain of Brazil in the 2023 Under 17 World Cup, where they faced England and won 2-1. And his professional debut occurred last June. In his second appearance, his first start, he scored for Palmeiras against rival Corinthians.
In total, he played 22 games as a professional before being sold to Manchester City.
The club tried to get him to stay until mid-year 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 players like John Stones. and Nathan Aké. He will wear shirt number 22.
“City likes to play with the ball and I like it too, I think it's my style of play,” said the teenager when he was introduced.
The young defender participated this Tuesday in his first training session with Manchester City
Reis shares the pitch with team-mates Phil Foden (right) and fellow newly signed Abdukodir Khusanov (centre), who joined the Premier League champions for £33m this week.
He sees Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos (above) as an influence on his playing style.
'City have already shown confidence in me and wanted to hire me, so I already have a lot of confidence. 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 invest more and get involved in the build-up to the game, as the Brazilian could cover for him if the ball is played behind Lewis.
He heads to Manchester with the best wishes of Palmeiras.
“The youth system does its job,” Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira said last week. “And the senior team does what is good for them: putting the child to play against Flamengo, in crucial matches, against Botafogo at home and away.”
“Then, when people from the other side of the Atlantic call you to ask you about Vitor Reis… you remember that in the first Club World Cup Guardiola didn't know Palmeiras very well, I think he does now.”
Ahead of the Club World Cup final between River Plate and Chelsea in 2022, City coach Guardiola wrongly said that River had won the Copa Libertadores in 2021, claiming that the Argentine club and Chelsea were the best teams in the world for their titles.
In fact, Palmeiras were South American champions that year and Ferreira joked that he would invite him to lunch or dinner to learn more about them.
Ironically, it was Guardiola who helped usher in this new era at Palmeiras. The Brazilian team had decided to start building a solid academy from 2015 and the first big dividend came when Gabriel Jesus left for East Manchester for £27 million a year later, on the eve of Guardiola's first season in charge.
Palmeiras coach, Abel Ferreira, admitted that the youth team is an integral part of the club
City are unbeaten in six games in all competitions after their 6-0 win over Ipswich.
Reis' pace will allow City's Rico Lewis (above) to invest more and be involved in the build-up to the game.
Jesus' £45m transfer to Arsenal in 2022 also gave the Brazilians another windfall as they had included a five per cent selling fee. They also get an extra two percent in a solidarity mechanism from FIFA, 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 coming in from the other side of the Atlantic.