Official: Jefferson Savarino leaves RSL in Atletico Mineiro transfer

Jefferson Savarino, after a fruitful career at Real Salt Lake in which he became a key cog for the club, has been transferred to Brazilian top division side Atletico Mineiro for a “club-record fee.”

That fee is rumored to be in the $2 million range, which well exceeds RSL’s record for Carlos Salcedo — that came out to around $650,000 when it was all said and done.

That news, which has been expected for multiple weeks, comes officially from an RSL press release. News had floated around that Savarino was headed there, with one of the stated reasons apparently being an ability to have his family visit his young family, given the difficulty of Venezuelan travel to the United States.

From a club-issued release, RSL general manager Elliot Fall:

“We want to thank Jefferson for his contributions to Real Salt Lake’s success during his three years with the club and wish him the best of luck throughout his career. We have our sights set on several players to replace him on the roster and are in the process of doing our due diligence to ensure that we bring in players that can contribute on the field, but also fit into our locker room and into our community.”

News emerged in the last few days that RSL is looking at Justin Meram as an addition to the squad; should a move come to fruition, he could fairly immediately step into a starting position alongside Corey Baird, who is likely to start on the other wing.

RSL also announced today the signing of 18-year-old Venezuelan winger Jeizon Ramirez, who is unlikely to offer the same immediate impact but may hold similar potential.

Bigger or more prominent moves for RSL may be possible, and they’re indeed hinted at in Fall’s quote above. We’ll see what happens there.