In one of the more eye-opening deals of the summer, Tottenham Hotspur have paid a reported £75m plus £10m in add-ons to sign Savinho from Manchester City. It's undeniably a big fee for a player with two goals in 53 Premier League games.
Spurs will be hoping to see more from the 22-year-old who looked bright in Spain with 11 goals and 10 assists in 41 games for Girona before making the move to England. He certainly hasn't lived up to expectations, but has plenty of time to get his career back on track.
Indeed, Savinho will want to put his struggles at the Etihad behind him. His departing message suggests he won't be looking back at Man City with great fondness.
Savinho Says Goodybe to Man City
As is often the case these days, upon completing his transfer, Savinho took to social media to send a farewell message to his former club. While players tend to spare at least a few paragraphs – as they thank their old employers and perhaps the fans for memories made over the years – the Brazilian winger was rather blunt with his goodbye.
In fact, the new Spurs star had just three words for the Cityzens as he took to Instagram to write:
"Thanks Man City"
The message quickly picked up on social media, causing a bit of a stir, as many commented on the lack of effort put in.
“He arrived in Manchester as a 20-year-old with limited senior experience and leaves as an FA Cup and Carabao Cup winner with lots of Premier League and Champions League games under his belt. “Everyone at City would like to place on record our thanks to Savinho for all his efforts during his time with us and we wish him the very best on his move to Spurs.”
In fairness, Savinho did wish Man City the 'very best for the future' in the same article as he saved his proper goodbye to the club for the club website.
Savinho Becomes Savio at Spurs
Instead of offering Man City fans an articulate farewell on social media, the winger was perhaps more interested in rebranding himself as Savio. Indeed, the 22-year-old will now drop Savinho from the back of his shirt at Spurs.
Having been born as Savio Moreira de Oliveira, "Savinho" is simply the Portuguese diminutive, meaning "little Savio". He adopted it himself, mid-career, recalling: "The first call-up they put Savinho on the shirt [for Brazil]. People in Girona knew me more as Savinho... I told them to put Savinho on the shirt, and I hope it brings me luck too."
However, he will now wear the number 17 shirt with just Savio on the back.