In a country that produces wholesale football jewels, Willian Estêvão manages to stand out. At only 17, he has become one of the young Brazilians most sought after by the greats of Europe.
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Estêvão comes from Palmeiras talent pool, the same one that brought out Endrick and Luis Guilherme in the last period, he managed to stand out with ease. He lifted all the trophies played with the Verdão U-17 team, including the Brazilian Cup and the Brasileirão.
Closely followed by representatives of Chelsea, FC Barcelona and PSG, his price grew even more with his good performance in the U-17 World Cup that took place last year in Indonesia. Brazil did not advance beyond the quarterfinals, although individual performances such as those of Estevão, Kauã Elias and Luighi stood out.
Estevão is absolutely INCREDIBLE!
— All Things Brazil™ 🇧🇷 (@SelecaoTalk) July 5, 2024
In this semester he gained minutes in the Palmeiras first team and scored his first goals, including one against Liverpool (Uruguay) for the Copa Libertadores. Coach Abel Ferreira, always eager to make room for the youth players, already regularly includes him as one of the starters.
🚨🎙️| Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira on Estevão:
“This player is unlike anything I've ever seen”pic.twitter.com/CHWRhaw7eE
— All Things Brazil™ 🇧🇷 (@SelecaoTalk) May 3, 2024
Although there are several teams in Europe interested in hiring ‘Messinho’, nicknamed because of the similarities in his game with Lionel Messi, everything indicates that his destiny will be in London.
A Chelsea manager was already in São Paulo in January to advance negotiations and the information indicates that there is already a an official agreement to hire him.
🔵🇧🇷 Official, confirmed. Willian Estevão joins Chelsea from July 2025 from Palmeiras.
Deal signed as revealed earlier today.
Huge one for Chelsea future with 2007 born gem. pic.twitter.com/5z9aKUq2NU
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 22, 2024
According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the initial offer will be around 32 million euros, plus 25 million in bonuses tied to achievements that would take the figure above the termination clause of 55 million.
