Palmeiras trusted the academy. As a result, in recent years the club not only became champion of Brazil twice, but also sent several students to Europe: Endrick went to Real Madrid, Luis Guilherme to West Ham. Estevao Willian, signed by Chelsea, will also be there in a year.
The Brazilian is only 17 years old, but he has already survived legal disputes, early attention from top club scouts and media pressure. He managed to overcome everything and become the main talent of the generation for Brazil. Let’s know the story of this boy from the Brazilian Franca.
Estevao Willian
Photo: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images
His career began thanks to the efforts of his father.
The boy’s football career began at Cruzeiro. Estevao got there in 2015, when his father took a risk and came from Franca to enroll his son in the academy on the advice of businessmen he knew. The coaches only needed a few recordings of the album to understand Willian’s talent.
Carlos Alberto Lins de Faria
Willian, the first coach of Esteváo
“I really liked Estevao while I was watching him. Then I realized that the next step was to bring him. He was in the U9 category, coincidentally I was the coach of this team. But the boy was better than his classmates and started training with the U10 team.”
Willian began to attend children’s tournaments and attract attention. According to the head coach, after the 2016 Go Cup tournament, Santos, Flamengo, Botafogo and other Brazilian giants began to follow him. Cruzeiro began to realize the talent he had.
Carlos Alberto Lins de Faria
Willian, the first coach of Esteváo
“Did you see those videos of Neymar or Ronaldinho when they were kids? This is Esteváo. He receives the ball in the center of the field, runs around the entire opposing team and scores goals.”
Nike did not waste the hype: it signed a contract with Esteváo when he was still 10 years old. Neymar, for example, signed the same agreement when he was 13 years old. Subsequently, agent Andre Curie, who oversaw Neymar’s transfer from Santos to Barcelona, took the young Brazilian under his protection.
Cruzeiro drew up a sports plan for Estevao because they could not offer him a contract until he was 14 years old. They didn’t want the talent to leave the club. But these plans were frustrated by the club’s crisis. In 2019, as part of a Brazilian media investigation, it was revealed that Cruzeiro sold part of the economic rights to players to cover debts. The situation with Estevao, 13 years old, was as follows: 70% of the rights remained in the hands of the club, 15% in the hands of the family and the remaining 15% was sold to Estrela Sports Ltda. FIFA only prohibits this type of transactions. Club advisors involved in the case were fired.
Estevao Willian at the Cruzeiro Academy
Photo: From the personal archive of Estevao Willian
After this, the boy and his family decided to leave the Cruzeiro Academy. Once again there was scandal: the club accused Palmeiras, where he moved, of illegally negotiating with Esteváo’s family before he turned 14. It later turned out that Palmeiras did not violate anything, but this situation ruined relations between the clubs.
The talent signed a three-year deal with the new club. Some media wrote that Palmeiras paid the family more than 300 thousand euros for the transition and, according to the contract, Estevao will earn a fabulous 20 thousand euros per month. The academy management had to intervene: they said they did not receive even 10% of that amount.
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First successes at youth level
The Palmeiras academy quickly realized who had joined them. From the first games in the U15 team, Estevao became a leader both in the game and in the number of effective actions. In the winter of 2022, the first reports of interest from Barcelona appeared.
At that time, Endrick was already shining in the Brazilian club, whose game attracted the attention of European clubs. But at Palmeiras, the coaches saw Willian as a more talented player: “He has the potential to become one of the best on the planet.”
Estevao was immediately proclaimed champion of São Paulo in the under-15 category. A couple of weeks before his 15th birthday, he scored four goals and three assists in one of the matches, after which he entered the under-17 team for the first time. And he scored in his debut match. After that, together with Endrik, he won the Brazilian U17 Cup. At the same time, the Brazilian decided to abandon the Messinho nickname. He received it playing in Cruzeiro: “It arose from a comparison, since I always try to keep the ball close to my foot.” But Estevao decided to write his own story, although he dreamed of playing at the Camp Nou.
Estevao Willian
Palmeiras player
“I try to be like Leo Messi. But my name is Estevao and I want to make my name great and help my family.”
At the same time, a fierce fight for Endrik had already begun. Estevao also participated in the saga. The Brazilian UOL wrote that PSG offered 80 million euros for the Palmeiras star duo. The Brazilians refused, sold Endrick to Real Madrid and waited for new offers for Willian: “The Club already rejected offers of 30 and 35 million euros, now Paris offers 40 million euros.” They also did not agree: a few months later, Estevao signed the first contract with a compensation of 60 million euros.
Endrik already scored a crazy goal at Real Madrid:
Video
“By magic! Endrik did something! Surprising and unexpected shot by the Real Madrid star. Video
Trip to the U17 World Cup
In November 2023, Estevao, as a leader, led the Brazilian team to the U17 World Cup. A couple of weeks before this tournament, the winger proclaimed Palmeiras U17 champion of Brazil: in the final with Sao Paulo he scored a hat -trick.
The tournament in Indonesia began with an interview with the player’s agent, André Curie: “Estevao is a true phenomenon. He is a future Ballon d’Or winner. I think that after the World Cup someone will sign him. Maybe Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester City. “There are proposals.”
Brazil started with a defeat against Iran, Estevao only came on for 20 minutes and did not score. But in the second round he created a show: he started the game against New Caledonia, scored, gave three assists and made 13 key passes. After that, the Brazilian started every match, scored a double against Ecuador, but together with the national team he stumbled against Argentina and left the tournament in the quarterfinals.
Estevao with the award for best player of the match at the U-17 World Cup
Photo: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images
As the tournament progressed, Estevao showed that he especially stands out among his teammates. The winger made spectacular passes, scored with shots from outside the area and led Brazil with it. After the World Cup, attention on him increased and Chelsea joined the list of contenders.
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Classification
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Jump into big football and move to Europe
Palmeiras rewarded Estevao and allowed him to debut in the last game of the last championship. Willian won his first senior trophy in 12 minutes on the pitch. By a surprising coincidence, the debut occurred in a match against Cruzeiro. Following this, the winger was expected to play an important role next season.
But first there was rest and a new round of rumors. Chelsea saw Estevao as an important signing in the context of its new strategy of acquiring talent from South America. His first result was Kendry Paez. While the London club worked behind the scenes, the Brazilian independently fueled Barcelona’s interest.
Estevao Willian
Palmeiras player
“I am very happy that Vítor Roque is going to Barça, we are friends. I hope that one day we will play for the blue garnets. I saw Lamin Yamal play, he is very talented, maybe we can play together.”
Before the preseason with the main team, Willian faced his last test in the lower categories: Copinha. With the “ten” on his back, the Brazilian also took the lead there. He scored goals in all phases until the round of 16, where Palmeiras fell sensationally.
Just 10 days later, Esteváo played in the Sao Paulo championship with the main team. The coach let him down little by little, giving him time at the end of the games. In one of those games, the Brazilian assisted the winning goal and had Abel Ferreira shower him with praise.
Abel Ferreira
Palmeiras coach
“How old is he? 16 or 17? Everything seems simple to him. You have to be patient, Estevao has enormous potential. I really admire him. I don’t know what a child feels when his whole family tells him that he needs to play well. I’m trying to relieve that pressure.
Only two months later, the Brazilian will make his first appearance as a starter for Palmeiras, in the Copa Libertadores. He will score his first goal and become the third-youngest Brazilian scorer in the history of the tournament. Since then, Estevao has appeared on the field every time he was in the lineup.
The boy handles pressure very well. On a day when the media actively dispelled rumors about Esteváo’s imminent transfer to Chelsea, he made the following performance: the winning goal in the 90+8 minute of the match, six key passes and 11 dribbles. Abel Ferreira went crazy again: “I will ask the president not to sell it! May Estevao stay with us until 2027. Believe me, he is special. “I haven’t seen anything like it in my career.”
But two weeks later, Fabrizio Romano said “here we go”: Esteváo will become a Chelsea player in 2025, when he will be 18 years old. Palmeiras should receive 40 million euros + 25 million euros in bonuses. The agreement was confirmed by the clubs at the end of June. A day later, Willian scored and celebrated Cole Palmer style.
Imagine these two together:
The Chelsea leader set a Premier League record. Nobody had ever scored so many goals in the first half.
The Brazilian’s achievements did not end there. After Endrick left, he became the leader of Palmeiras: he scored eight goals and seven assists. Along the way he even managed to anger the legend Rogerio Ceni.
Rogerio Ceni
Bahia head coach
“This guy is impossible to patronize! He seems talented, just like Lucas Beraldo and Neymar. Estevao has everything to become one of the greats.”
In the match against Bahía itself, a curious situation occurred: Willian was recognized as the best player of the match, but they could not give him the award, it is still too small to announce it in the bookmaker, the league’s sponsor. The Brazilian received a minion as a consolation prize.
Now Estevao is already at the level of young Neymar: in the debut season of the Brazilian Championship, both talents scored 16 goals each. It took Neymar 33 games, while Willian only 22. And he still has every chance of surpassing this achievement! The rapid growth also led to a call-up to the Brazilian national team, which the winger joined in September. He became the second youngest debutant of this century.
What do you need to improve before moving to Europe?
Estevao shows the Brazilian style, betting on the beautiful game. It will be difficult to adapt it in Europe. Palmeiras youth team coordinator Joao Paulo Sampaio spoke about the necessary changes: “First of all, Willian is working on his weak leg. The next step is to improve your physique, but it is a matter of time and maturity.” However, he is confident that Estevao will achieve it: “What these players have is a strong personality and an ego that motivates them. It’s only for such supernatural talents. But it is very difficult for ordinary players, who are the majority.”
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