Atlético, whose former teammate Savinho is a member of, was the first Brazilian club mentioned by a European football legend in an interview during a visit to Brazil
Red Bull Leipzig star and European football legend Xavi Simons is visiting Brazil for the team’s “tour” of the country. When asked about his knowledge of Brazilian teams, the Dutchman didn’t hesitate and mentioned the names of four giants of national football. The first of these was Atlético, remembered by the attacking midfielder due to his former teammate Savinho, a product of Galo’s youth academy.
“During my career, I played with many Brazilian players. I played with Savinho at PSV, he played at Atlético Mineiro. I know many clubs here, Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo… I know a lot of these clubs.”
Next, Xavi praised the “playing style” and the “mentality” of Brazilians of “enjoying being on the pitch”: “At the end, we see them smiling on the pitch, that’s pure magic. This is different from other countries, they are on the field enjoying themselves as if they were in their hometown”.
Xavi Simons and Savinho played together for just one season – the Atlético youth player’s first outside of Brazil, in 2022/2023. Despite the language barrier, they became friends and still like and comment on Instagram to this day. Xavi was PSV’s star player that season, scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists. Meanwhile, Sávio struggled to adapt to Europe. Loaned to the club by Troyes, a French team belonging to the City Group, the Brazilian forward suffered from injuries and played little for the Dutch club. Savinho played 10 games for PSV’s B team in 2022/2023, scoring two goals and providing two assists, and had only eight opportunities to play for the main team – none as a starter. Simons was also playing in seven of them – interestingly, the two goal contributions made by the Galo youth player playing for PSV’s main team were for Xavi. The following season, the Dutchman, a product of Barcelona’s youth system, would leave PSV for Red Bull Leipzig. At the German team, he has been the main offensive player since he arrived, with 22 goals and 20 assists in 76 matches played.
A frequent starter for the Dutch national team, Xavi is expected to leave the club in the next transfer window and has already been linked with European giants such as Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool. Savinho would also leave PSV the following season. In 2023/2024, he was transferred by Troyes to Girona, in Spain, which also belongs to the City Group. There, he emerged, was one of the great revelations of the Spanish Championship and, in 2024/2025, he was signed by the powerful Manchester City, in England. In Pep Guardiola’s team, he scored two goals and provided 10 assists in 45 games in his first season, in which he alternated between starting and being a substitute.
