Savinho is proving to be Man City's first multi-club success story after unique path to the top

Savinho's rural upbringing is atypical compared to most footballers, but he moved to the big city of Belo Horizonte at the age of 12 to join Atletico Mineiro. At first he lived alone, far from his family, although his mother eventually moved over with him, and when he wasn't playing football, he was playing FIFA. That was how he first discovered City.

"I have a friend whose dream was for me to become a Manchester City player," Savinho told City's official media. "We used to play video games together, and he always played as Manchester City. I played with other teams, and he said that his dream was for me to one day join Manchester City and that I had the potential to get there."

Savinho, then, is not exactly living out his dream at City, but his friend's. He took an unconventional path to the Etihad, though, when he left Atletico in the summer of 2022, aged 18. Rather than sign directly for Pep Guardiola's side, he joined the City Football Group (CFG) and was assigned to Troyes, whom City had acquired in 2020 and were competing in the French top flight at the time.

To make the signing even more unconventional, Savinho did not move to France, but was instead immediately loaned to PSV in the Netherlands. A club source said this was because the player wanted to play on the right wing and Troyes at the time were deploying Wilson Odobert, now at Tottenham, in his favoured position.

Savinho had a far from ideal start to life in Europe, though, as he missed four months with a hamstring injury and spent the bulk of his time at PSV with the reserve side. He only made six appearances for the first team in the Eredivisie, none of which were starts. He did at least get the chance to work under then-head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, who sent him a good luck message when he moved on.

PSV wanted to keep Savinho for another season, but he instead chose a loan move to Girona, whose sporting director Quique Carcel had watched him stand out for Brazil during the Under-20 World Cup. Girona, conveniently, also belong to CFG, and that is why Savinho's transfer movements have been the subject of some debate.

Troyes fans, meanwhile, were expecting Savinho to join up with them after leaving PSV. The French club, however, had been relegated the previous season and Savinho - and CFG - did not fancy him playing in Ligue 2 when he could be playing in La Liga instead.

Savinho and Girona proved to be the perfect match. When coach Michel watched him in pre-season, he became hugely excited and told Carcel he was convinced that they would now finish in the top eight. Carcel tried to bring the manager back to earth and create more realistic expectations as Girona were coming off a campaign where they finished 10th in their first season back in the top flight.

As it turned out, both men dramatically underestimated. Savinho propelled the Catalans to their best-ever season as they finished third, above Atletico Madrid. Against all expectations, they led the table for a large part of the season before eventually being reeled in by champions Real Madridm and subsequently Barcelona.

Savinho was one of the biggest factors in Girona's rise, scoring nine goals and contributing 10 assists. Michel was never shy of heaping praise on him. "I know this is high praise, but I haven't seen a talent as good as him at one-v-ones since Vinicius Jr," he said in September.

Towards the end of the season, Michel made it clear he wanted Savinho to stay for another year, calling the winger "the greatest player I've ever coached". This, however, came off the back of a blunt, clumsy statement a few months previously which summed up why he and CFG have caused such controversy.

"He's the best player I've ever coached. I don’t know if he is a Troyes or Manchester City player, but I know he is not our player," Michel said in February. Troyes fans were similarly confused, and they were understandably left angry as Savinho supercharged Girona's title bid while they sank towards a second successive relegation.

Tensions boiled over in their match against Valenciennes as fans threw flares onto the pitch, while ironically chanting 'Merci City', leading to the game having to be abandoned. Troyes finished in the relegation places, but eventually avoided demotion to the third tier of French football thanks to Bordeaux's financial struggles. Needless to say, they are not happy with how their relationship with City is going.

Troyes supporter Benjamin Rund told The Athletic last May: “We have signed extraordinary players, but one of them is playing for a top team in La Liga. And for me, it is proof that our club is just a business now. It’s, ‘Let’s sign a player and try to make a profit as quickly as possible’. But here in Troyes, we are struggling. We are having a really hard time."

A CFG source insists that revitalising Troyes’ fortunes is a big priority, but also points to the benefits of the multi-club model. Teams under the same umbrella can share information on a player’s medical history and injury record, for example, and though it might be coincidental, Savinho’s injury problems from his time with PSV have not resurfaced as he played in 37 out of Girona’s 38 league games last term.

The source also points to the unified style of football across CFG clubs, which has undoubtedly helped Savinho make such a seamless transition from Girona to City.

City are the not the first club to pursue a multi-club model, with Red Bull pioneering the structure by launching teams in Austria, Germany, the United States and Brazil. CFG is, however, now the largest multi-club network, boasting 13 teams around the world. Their expansion began with the launch of New York City in 2013, and now they boast clubs in every continent, aside from Africa.

Other major clubs are following their example. Manchester United’s minority owners, INEOS, also own Nice in France and Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland, as well as teams in multiple other sports. Arsenal's Stan Kroenke, meanwhile, owns MLS side Colorado Rapids.

Last year, Chelsea bought a majority stake in Strasbourg, and other Premier League clubs are also at it, including Brighton (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise), Brentford (Midtjylland) and Nottingham Forest (Olympiacos).

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, are part of a network of eight other clubs, and Liverpool are also getting involved as they seriously considered buying a stake in Bordeaux earlier this year.

City, though, are well ahead of the curve, and with more than a decade’s experience than their rivals in this brave new world. That is why they have been able to unearth a gem like Savinho, carefully manage his career and then integrate him into their squad when he is ready.

Savinho is not the first player to end up in the City team after coming through another CFG side, with Angelino having already trodden that path, albeit with limited success, when he went out on loan to New York City, was sold to PSV and then bought back by City, making just a handful of appearances.

Savinho is now the CFG's great success story and is shaping up to be the best player to come out of the global network. Like it or not, he is now a poster boy for this very modern way of running a top club. 

And he was well aware of the path being laid out in front of him when considering his future back as an 18-year-old at Atletico Mineiro, when he sought the advice of veteran team-mates Diego Costa and Diego Godin. "Godin told me that City would be a good place for me," he told Diario Sport last year. "I knew that Troyes was a part of the City group and that if I worked hard I could get to City one day."

That day arrived much quicker than anyone expected, but City have a real gem on their hands, a near replica of Mahrez but schooled in their ways and for half the price. The CFG model is starting to finally bear fruit and Savinho is ripe and ready, set to harvest goals and assists for many years to come.