The teenage defender signed for City from Palmeiras, but Pastorello says a move to Italy was close.
He told TMW: "It was the most important operation of our winter market. It was a positive market, this operation made it special. Vitor Reis is the first great champion of the project that I started in 2019 together with my collaborators that is giving us great satisfaction, we have three offices in Brazil. It is a structure that gives us great satisfaction, Reis had offers from all over Europe.
"I have to be honest, Inter tried. They respected him and considered him a player to try to take, once the Premier League battleships took to the field, the figures went through the roof.
"And in Italy we don't spend certain figures for a 2006, even if in three years he will be worth triple."