Manchester City's agreement to sell winger Savinho to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £75m, potentially rising to £85m with add-ons, stands as a record sale for the club and a striking illustration of how the City Football Group (CFG) network operates.
The 22-year-old Brazilian's journey through CFG's web of clubs began in 2022 when he arrived at French side Troyes from Atletico Mineiro as a record signing, yet he never featured for the club. Instead, he was loaned to PSV Eindhoven for the 2022-23 season before moving to Girona, another CFG-affiliated club, the following year. It was in Spain that Savinho truly announced himself, contributing nine goals and eight assists in 37 league appearances as Girona qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, earning him a place in La Liga's team of the year.
Manchester City subsequently signed him from Troyes for £30.8m, a fee that raised eyebrows given his standout campaign in Spain. His two seasons in Manchester produced modest attacking returns of two goals and 12 assists in the Premier League, though he did register 16 goal contributions across all competitions in his debut season under Pep Guardiola, including a club-high eight Premier League assists.
Despite limited output in front of goal, the financial outcome of his time at City has been described as a considerable success for CFG, which oversees a network of 12 clubs globally. The sale to Tottenham represents a profit of nearly £70m once all bonuses are triggered.
Girona's director of football, Quique Carcel, explained that the club had hoped to keep Savinho for an additional season following their Champions League qualification. "Our intention from the moment that we reached the Champions League was to try to get him to stay for another year," Carcel told BBC Sport. "But logically after making such a big impact, City, Pep and Txiki [Begiristain] were already considering having him in their first-team squad. There was a moment when they were deciding between the two options... But as soon as there was an interest from Pep and Txiki in him being a player that would be able to play in the first team squad, then of course the player didn't have any doubts."
CFG's managing director of global football, Brian Marwood, framed the transfer as validation of the group's broader philosophy. "It's a success story for the group," Marwood said. "The idea is always 'can we get them to the pinnacle in our group', which is Manchester City. There might be some along the way that might be good assets for the group... We have created a pathway for the boy but credit to him because he is playing in one of the best leagues in the world."
Savinho's departure adds to a growing list of academy and development products City have sold on for significant sums, including Morgan Rogers, Douglas Luiz, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Oscar Bobb — with the club recouping more than £250m from such sales over the past five years. Some of these moves, notably Rogers' rise at Aston Villa before a £117m switch to Chelsea, and Palmer's emergence at Chelsea after being sold for £40m, suggest City have occasionally let talent go too early.
Marwood acknowledged the inherent unpredictability of developing young players. "One of the hardest bits about signing young players is that you don't know an awful lot about them," he said, citing Oleksandr Zinchenko, Taty Castellanos and Jack Harrison as previous examples of successful pathways through the group.
With Savinho now set for a new chapter at Tottenham, City's focus shifts to the next generation of prospects, including 18-year-old Ryan McAidoo, Japanese teenager Shin Miidera, American midfielder Cavan Sullivan, and Vitor Reiss, who spent last season on loan at Girona. "The challenge is can we produce the next one?" Marwood said. "It's important we grow this hub of young talent... and use our network of clubs to aid their development."
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.