Vitor Reis has been back at the City Football Academy for a matter of weeks. The defender, signed from Palmeiras in January 2025, spent last season on loan at Girona. That stint ended in relegation. It may also have been the making of him.
Reis, in an interview with ESPN Brasil, described the experience as formative. He faced Vinícius Jr, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham across the season. “Facing great players like them requires maximum concentration,” he said. He appears to have handled it. By most accounts, he was one of Girona’s best performers in a campaign that finished with the club dropping into the Segunda División.
What he learned at City first time around
Before the loan, Reis spent six months around the City first team after arriving from Brazil. He spoke about the influence of Rúben Dias and Erling Haaland during that period. “City has a great squad and excellent players,” he said. “I learned a lot, especially from Rúben Dias, who encourages me a lot, and Haaland himself, who is one of the top strikers in world football.”
That education continued in Spain. Girona, under Michel, played a high defensive line. It suited Reis. The same system is central to Enzo Maresca’s approach at City.
The timing of his return is worth noting. City have not yet started their pre-season programme. The 2026-27 campaign begins on 23rd August. Reis has time to settle, time to show what he has absorbed.
He arrives back at a club that has seen John Stones and Bernardo Silva leave this summer. The pathway to first-team minutes is not as crowded as it might have been. That is no guarantee of anything, but it is not a bad position to be in.