Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
Making it as a Champions League player conjures up images of designer clothes at exclusive clubs, private jets to exotic locales, VIP friends and garages crammed with supercars. But none of those glittering luxuries can compare with the rewards of simple country life for Manchester City wideman Savinho.
The left-footed Brazilian has lit up City’s flanks since joining from Girona in July 2024, bringing unpredictability, pace and shooting expertise. He isn’t the first South American to ply his trade in Manchester, but the urban bustle and concrete surroundings are a far cry from his start in life. Sávio Moreira de Oliveira, to give him his full name, grew up in rustic São Mateus in southeast Brazil, making himself useful on his grandparents’ ranch.
“From my childhood, I miss waking up very early to help my uncles, waking up when it was still dark outside,” says the 21-year-old, who learned to milk cows and tend fields of various crops, fruits and vegetables. That kind of discipline stays with you for life, though Savinho admits that rising before dawn has a different appeal in Brazil than where he lives now. “When I’m in the countryside, I live it intensely,” he explains. “I wake up early, but I don’t like waking up early here in Manchester.”
It wasn’t all work back then, of course. The weekends brought parties – and, this being Brazil, a football was never far away. So, who did Savinho play with growing up? “A lot of people. All my cousins, boys and girls. Every afternoon at 4pm or 5pm, we’d meet at a pitch there with little goalposts to play.” That makeshift set-up on the family ranch is where the youngster first developed his skills, and his route to the top began when Atlético Mineiro brought him into their youth system at the age of 11.
Savinho made his first-team debut for Atlético as a 16-year-old in 2020 and, from there, things moved quickly. Manchester City’s worldwide scouting network spotted his potential, and he was given stints with a couple of City Football Group clubs – Troyes in France and Girona in Spain (with a loan to Dutch side PSV in between) – before Pep Guardiola summoned him to HQ last summer.
Although he’s come a long way from life on the farm, Savinho has not left it all behind. Success as a footballer has allowed him to indulge his love of animals, which were a big part of his childhood. Not only does his family breed horses, rodeos were always a big favourite too – but don’t worry, City fans, only ever as a spectator. “At a rodeo, there’s a bull and a rider who’s supposed to last eight seconds on its back, and the bull will start to jump around,” Savinho recalls. “I didn’t try it, no. Are you crazy? It’s dangerous!”
The lure of the stables has grabbed many a football star, including four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos, who owns a stud farm close to his native Seville, and 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen, a keen investor in horse racing. As for Savinho, he now owns a collection of 15 horses, and one video on his Instagram shows him doing kick-ups next to a new four-legged friend at a riding school in Daisy Nook Country Park near Manchester.
Would Savinho like to get his team-mates in the saddle? “I’d love to take them to my farm,” he grins. “To ride the horses and make them wake up very early. I’d make them do everything – groom and handle the horses. Absolutely everything!” You get the feeling he’s not joking either. So, be warned, Erling Haaland and Co… this won’t be your average end-of-season vacation.
