Jefferson Savarino set to return to Brazil in reported $2.7 million RSL sale

SALT LAKE CITY — Brazilian club Botafogo is closing in on a transfer deal for Real Salt Lake winger Jefferson Savarino, according to multiple sources.

The Athletic's Tom Bogert said the deal would be "around $2.7 million," with RSL keeping a sell-on percentage should Botafogo sell Savarino in the future. The move comes just under two years removed from Savarino's return to RSL after his first stint in Brazil with Atletico Mineiro.

Savarino originally joined RSL in 2017 in his first move away from his home country of Venezuela and was subsequently sold to Mineiro in 2020 for $2 million. He totaled seven goals and six assists in each of his two seasons since returning to RSL.

The 27-year-old was a key dynamic piece of RSL's offense when he was on the field, but was sometimes left off the roster — particularly during road trips — for what was often cited as "personal reasons."

He was left off the team for a home match against Vancouver on Sept. 23 and when the team's X account said it was due to a "personal situation." Savarino quoted the post with, "What personal situation?"

He returned to the team and scored two more goals in the 2023 season, including in a key playoff win at home against Houston on Nov. 6. Bogert added in his report that Savarino's "work off the ball left something to be desired by the (RSL) coaching staff."

The departure opens another designated player slot for RSL with less than two weeks to go before the start of the 2024 preseason. Striker Chicho Arango currently occupies the only designated player slot after Damir Kreilach left Utah for Vancouver last week.

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