According to "Sport," Ryunosuke Sato is close to joining Valencia. Like Takefusa Kubo and Yuto Nagatomo, Sato began his career at FC Tokyo.
European football's interest in Japanese players is increasingly grounded in merit rather than speculation. A look at the national team roster under coach Hajime Moriyasu reveals that 23 of the 26 players compete in European leagues, spread across Germany, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Belgium, France, Spain, Denmark, Italy, and Portugal.
Beyond sporting merit, this trend offers commercial opportunities in the Eastern market. With Japanese players establishing themselves across Europe, Ryunosuke Sato has every chance of becoming the next breakout star—provided his development at Valencia remains uninterrupted. Despite being only 19, this right winger has already earned 5 senior national team caps.
Yuto Nagatomo, an FC Tokyo product who represented Japan at the World Cup, is one of the pioneers of Japanese players moving to Europe. He is considered representative of this trend alongside Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa. Earlier pioneers included Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, and Kazuyoshi Miura.
Yuto Nagatomo began his professional career at Meiji University in Japan. FC Tokyo signed him officially in 2008, though he made his debut the previous year. After four seasons developing into an aggressive, competitive left-back capable of succeeding in Europe, he joined Cesena on loan. After proving himself in Italy for a year, Cesena purchased him for 1.6 million euros. One season later, Inter Milan signed him for 6.5 million euros, where he excelled from 2011 to 2018. Subsequently, he played for Galatasaray and Marseille. Since 2021, the now 39-year-old has returned to FC Tokyo.
In March 2015, FC Tokyo again demonstrated its excellent youth academy scouting. After beginning his football education in his hometown of Kawasaki, Takefusa Kubo caught attention at FC Barcelona's summer camp in 2009 as a preschooler. Two years later, La Masia brought him into Barcelona's youth system, where his left foot consistently delivered goals and assists. However, midway through the 2014/15 season, Barcelona lost him for violating minor transfer regulations. At 14, FC Tokyo welcomed him into its youth academy, expecting rapid advancement through the Japanese league. This proved accurate—he made his senior debut in an official match at 15, astonishing observers.
At 18, his return to Europe was imminent. While Barcelona was speculated as a destination, Real Madrid won the race, signing him in June 2019. Despite playing for Real Madrid Castilla, he struggled to break into the first team due to non-EU player quotas and was loaned out. His first destination was Mallorca, where he also made his La Liga debut at the Mestalla stadium against Valencia, which won 2-0 under Dani Parejo's leadership. He then completed several loan spells across Spanish football with Villarreal and Getafe, steadily developing. Eventually, Real Sociedad purchased half of his economic rights from Real Madrid for 6.5 million euros.
Among young players who left FC Tokyo for Europe, Yuto Nagatomo and Takefusa Kubo are the most prominent and serve as the brightest examples for Sato. However, they are not alone. Other FC Tokyo academy graduates have transferred to major leagues with strong prospects, including Kuryu Matsuki and Kenta Nozawa.
Southampton signed midfielder Kuryu Matsuki in summer 2024 on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. In his first season, this left-footed playmaker was loaned to Göztepe in Turkey's Süper Lig, where he made 34 appearances with 6 goals and 5 assists. Despite cultural challenges and his youth, Matsuki continued improving, and his market value increased. Now 23, he became an important player for Southampton and a key figure in their strong second-half performance, helping them reach the Championship promotion playoff final. They were eventually eliminated following a tactical espionage scandal, allowing Middlesbrough and Hull City to compete for promotion. Hull City ultimately secured the Premier League promotion.
Before Southampton signed Kuryu Matsuki, the now 23-year-old had represented Japan at youth levels and won the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in 2024, earning AFC Youth Player of the Year. This mirrors Sato's success with Japan's youth teams, though Sato has progressed further, earning 5 senior caps since June 2025.
FC Tokyo's most recent significant youth academy sale involves goalkeeper Kenta Nozawa. Last year, Belgian club Antwerp paid 1 million euros for the 1.93-meter-tall prospect. Like Sato, Nozawa has represented Japan at youth levels and remains involved in Olympic and senior team preparations. Since October, he has established himself as Antwerp's starting goalkeeper, and like Matsuki, his upward trajectory is attracting attention from stronger European clubs.
Ryunosuke Sato entered the FC Tokyo system in 2014 at age 8, initially transferring from Aoyama FC to JACPA Tokyo before graduating four years later. In 2023, after signing a professional contract as an U-18 player, he stated: "My name is Ryunosuke Sato. I am delighted to announce that I have signed a professional contract with FC Tokyo. I am very happy to begin my professional career at my favorite club, which has supported me since fourth grade when I joined the FC Tokyo Soccer School advanced class. I will become a player who excites many people through football. I will fight for the blue and red emblem with pride, ambition, and passion. I will do my best to win the league title, which has been my dream for a long time. Thank you for your support!" Now, he aims to make his mark at Mestalla and take a significant step forward in European football.
Key players who have moved from FC Tokyo to Europe:
Ryunosuke Sato's transfer fee of approximately 4 million euros will exceed all previous amounts FC Tokyo has received for selling young players to European leagues.
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