Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (born 24 April 2007), known as Estêvão Willian or just Estêvão, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Palmeiras and the Brazil national team. He will join Premier League club Chelsea on 1 July 2025. He is regarded as one of the most promising young footballers in the world.
.jpg) Estêvão warming up with Palmeiras in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves | ||
| Date of birth | 24 April 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Franca, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Palmeiras | ||
| Number | 41 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2021 | Cruzeiro | ||
| 2021–2024 | Palmeiras | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Palmeiras | 37 | (13) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Brazil U17 | 5 | (3) |
| 2024– | Brazil | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:36, 9 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:01, 19 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Early life
editEstêvão was born in Franca, Brazil, and began his youth career with the academy of Cruzeiro in 2017.[2] The following year 2018 at the age of 10, Willian signed a professional contract with Nike, making him their youngest Brazilian player to sign with the company, surpassing Real Madrid footballer Rodrygo.[3]
Club career
editPalmeiras
editEstêvão moved to the youth academy of Palmeiras on 6 May 2021, signing a trainee contract.[4] In the 2022 season, he helped the Palmeiras youth teams win the Campeonato Paulista Sub-17 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Sub-17, Campeonato Paulista Sub-15 Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Sub-15, Copa do Brasil Sub-17 and Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17.[5] In October 2023, Estêvão scored a hat-trick in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17 final which ended in a 3–0 victory against São Paulo, to help his club to achieve their second consecutive title in the competition.[6]
On 7 December 2023, Estêvão made his professional debut for Palmeiras, coming off the bench in the 78th minute of a 1–1 draw away at Cruzeiro which sealed the Série A title win for Verdão.[7] At 16 years and 8 months, he became the club's fourth youngest player ever.[8]
Estêvão came back to the Palmeiras U-20 team for the Copinha 2024, and became a notable player of the competition and a primary player for the team in the competition. On 24 April 2024, he scored his first goal for Palmeiras in a 3–1 win over Liverpool during the 2024 Copa Libertadores group stage, becoming the third player under 17 to achieve this feat following Ângelo Gabriel and Endrick.[9]
Chelsea
editOn 22 June 2024, Premier League club Chelsea announced that Estêvão would join the club in the summer of 2025, upon his eighteenth birthday.[10][11][12] The deal reportedly commanded a €34 million fee, plus €23 million in performances-based incentives.[12]
International career
editEstêvão was first called up to represent the Brazil U17s in October 2022 for a set of friendlies in October 2022.[13] Estêvão was selected for the Brazil national team for the first time on 23 August 2024, to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Ecuador and the Paraguay.[14] He debuted on 6 September 2024 against Ecuador at the Estádio Couto Pereira. He substituted Luiz Henrique in the 61st minute as Brazil won 1–0.[15]
Style of play
editEstêvão has been compared to Lionel Messi and Neymar.[16] He originally used the nickname Messinho as a homage to Messi, due to similarities in their respective playing styles.[17] He has also been praised for his maturity, his reading of the game and his decision making, which were all considered to be precocious.[18]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 8 December 2024[19]
| Club | Season | League | Paulista | Copa do Brasil | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Palmeiras | 2023 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | 31 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 | ||
| Career total | 32 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 15 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
International
edit- As of match played 19 November 2024[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
Honours
editPalmeiras
Individual
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Newcomer: 2024[22]
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2024[22]
- Bola de Ouro: 2024[23]
- Troféu Mesa Redonda Best Player: 2024[24]
References
edit- ^ "Estêvão". Playmaker. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ "Joia da base do Cruzeiro, Estevão Willian deixa o clube e tem nome registrado no Palmeiras". ge. 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Joia da base do Palmeiras, Estevão Willian renova contrato com empresa de material esportivo". Lance!. 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Estevão Willian, o Messinho, deixa Cruzeiro e assina com o Palmeiras - Superesportes". Superesportes. 6 May 2021.
- ^ "PSG sinaliza investida de mais de R$ 400 milhões por Endrick e Estêvão; Palmeiras quer mais". ge.globo.com (in Portuguese). 21 November 2022.
- ^ "¡Exhibición de 'Messinho': 'hat-trick' y título para el Palmeiras!" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Palmeiras conquista segundo título brasileiro consecutivo e amplia hegemonia com 12 no total" [Palmeiras wins second consecutive Brazilian title and expands hegemony with 12 in total] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Estêvão entra no ranking dos mais jovens a fazerem estreia profissional pelo Palmeiras; veja top 10" [Estêvão enters the ranking of the youngest to make professional debut for Palmeiras; see the top 10]. ESPN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "IFFHS continental news: Copa Libertadores". IFFHS. 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Estevao Willian to join Chelsea". Chelsea F.C. 22 June 2024. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Chelsea seal Estevao Willian deal and open Aaron Anselmino talks". BBC Sport. 22 June 2024.
- ^ a b Johnson, Simon; Burrows, Ben (22 June 2024). "Chelsea confirm deal to sign Estevao from Palmeiras". The Athletic. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Palmeiras tem três jogadores convocados para a Seleção Brasileira". 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Convocados da Seleção: veja lista de Dorival Júnior para jogos contra Equador e Paraguai" [Seleção squad: see Dorival Júnior's list for games against Ecuador and Paraguay] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo.com. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ "Brazil v Ecuador game report". ESPN. 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Chelsea: Estevao Willian has been compared to Neymar and Lionel Messi". BBC Sport. 23 June 2024.
- ^ ""My dream is to be like Messi and play for Barcelona"". www.besoccer.com.
- ^ Davis, Krishan (16 February 2024). "Estevao Willian: The 'out-of-this-world' wonderkid trying to shake the nickname 'Messinho' - chased by Europe's elite but dreaming of Barcelona". Goal.com.
- ^ Estêvão Willian at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Estêvão". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
- ^ "Palmeiras iguala feito do Palestra Itália e chega ao tricampeonato estadual" [Palmeiras matches the achievement of Palestra Itália and reaches the state championship three-peat] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Federação Paulista de Futebol. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Seleção do Brasileirão 2024: com domínio do Botafogo, veja premiados". GloboEsporte (in Portuguese). 8 December 2024.
- ^ "Prêmio ESPN Bola de Prata Aposta Ganha: Botafogo domina, mas Estêvão faz história e leva Bola de Ouro; veja a seleção do Brasileirão". ESPN Brasil (in Portuguese). 9 December 2024.
- ^ "Palmeiras tem maioria no Troféu Mesa Redonda; Estêvão é craque e revelação". UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 9 December 2024.