Estevao – the Palmeiras prodigy bound for Chelsea who sees the football pitch as his ‘amusement park’

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More than a few Chelsea-supporting eyes were drawn to Palmeiras’ goalless draw with Porto at Metlife Stadium on Sunday, eager to watch the bright new hope of Brazilian football test himself against European opposition for the first time.

The fact that Estevao was named FIFA’s Superior Player of the Match — an award decided by viewer votes — underlined the bubbling excitement that has followed him to this Club World Cup, and will accompany him to Stamford Bridge when a transfer worth €34million (£29m, $39m) up front and another €23m tied to performance-based incentives is formally completed after the tournament.

Estevao has had many more decisive matches for Palmeiras in the dazzling first 18 months of his professional career, but the Porto defence still bore witness to the qualities that compelled Chelsea to move so quickly to secure his signature last year: the silky dribble, the probing eye for a pass, the sharp movement into scoring positions, the keen awareness of space.

In his numerous flicks and stepovers, there were also flashes of the joy that emanates from Estevao on the pitch, and a courage to keep trying to create that distinguishes him beyond his substantive talent as a natural showman in the grand Brazilian footballing tradition.

Estevao played well in Palmeiras’ opening game at the Club World Cup (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

“The main objective is to help my team to win, but football is also a spectacle,” Estevao tells The Athletic after a Palmeiras training session at their Club World Cup base at UNC Greensboro, North Carolina on Tuesday. “People go to the stadium hoping to see a win but also to have fun.

“I think one thing goes hand-in-hand with the other: when I am able to entertain the fans with my dribbles, goals and good play, I am also helping my team to go after a result.”

It is this attitude as much as his ability that has led many in his homeland to conclude that Estevao is the biggest talent Brazil has produced since Neymar.

Cruzeiro were the first to bet on his elite potential, scouting and bringing him from Sao Paolo to Belo Horizonte at the age of eight and even creating a new youth category in their academy to aid his development. Then it was Nike, who sponsored him at 10. Palmeiras recruited him aged 14 and elevated him to their first team at 16.

At that point Chelsea were among a host of major European clubs tracking his progress. In May 2024 a verbal agreement was reached on a deal to bring him to west London in the summer of 2025, less than two months after his 18th birthday.

(Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

The looming transfer has increased the pressure on Estevao’s performances over the past 12 months, but arguably no more so than the dizzyingly high standard he set for himself in a breakthrough 2024 season for Palmeiras, racking up 13 goals and nine assists in 31 league appearances, 26 of which were starts. He rarely lets it show.

“Pressure is part of football,” he adds. “Every player has to deal with it. When I’m on the pitch, I try to just think about having fun and helping my team in the best way I can: by scoring goals and setting them up. I like to say that the football pitch is my amusement park because it’s where I feel happiest.”

His debut campaign was punctuated by memorable moments: playfully mimicking Cole Palmer’s cold celebration after scoring against Juventude soon after the Chelsea move was announced, turning Bahia manager Rogerio Ceni into a meme when the former Brazil goalkeeper reacted to seeing the teenager whip a left-footed shot into his team’s net by saying, “It’s impossible, there’s no way to stop him”, and best of all, curling a sublime free kick into the top corner in the 90th minute away to Cruzeiro to snatch a 2-1 win that kept Palmeiras’ league title hopes alive.

Along the way, he quickly earned the respect as well as the affection of his older teammates. “I sort of adopted him,” Palmeiras attacking midfielder Raphael Veiga told SporTV in October 2024. “We have a great affinity. We live near each other and he’s often at my house. I’m happy for him, for his ascent.

“What he’s experiencing now will be nothing compared to what he will achieve in the game. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with. He has a good head on his shoulders. What impresses me is his mental strength in decisive moments, under pressure.”

Estevao had demonstrated that mental strength by stepping up to convert a penalty against Cuiaba in April when Veiga, the first-choice taker, was not on the pitch. That instinct to assume responsibility for his team worked against him in February when he won a spot kick, then saw his effort saved to condemn Palmeiras to a 1-1 draw against 10-man Corinthians.

As he later detailed in a Players’ Tribune article published to mark his 18th birthday, Estevao was searching for something on Instagram to lift his post-match gloom when he saw a private message of encouragement from Neymar, the countryman whose outrageous skills he spent his childhood studying on YouTube and then trying to emulate.

“Neymar is an idol, a reference point in Brazilian football,” he says. “I grew up watching him shine in a Brazil shirt, so I was really happy when he sent me that message. I was sad to have missed the penalty and it was incredible to get support from a superstar I have always admired. We spent some time together at the Sao Paulo state championship awards ceremony and, more recently, when he visited the national team camp.

“I dream of playing with him for Brazil one day. I hope I can make it come true.”

Estevao made his Brazil debut last summer (Mauro PIMENTEL / AFP)

Neymar has a better idea than most of what lies ahead for Estevao, having also left Brazilian football to join a European giant with all the hype and expectations that accompany a prodigy. He was 21 when he swapped Santos for Barcelona in 2013, readier than many others who have made the same voyage across the Atlantic to impact matches at the highest level.

Yet while Neymar clearly recognises a kindred spirit in Estevao, their personalities are very different. The unassuming son of a church pastor who will be accompanied by his parents and younger sister in his move to a new home near Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, no one expects Estevao to be distracted by the trappings of fame and wealth, nor the temptations that a city like London can present to young footballers. Such a strong support network should insulate him from many of the problems that have derailed other Brazilian wonderkids far from home.

On the pitch, there are differences too. Many in Brazil believe Estevao is best as a No 10, and he spent long stretches of the Porto game drifting into central pockets of space between the opposition lines. Earlier this year, his agent Andre Cury revealed Chelsea became the teenager’s preferred suitor in part because they see him as a central attacking midfielder rather than a right winger — an evaluation that raises immediate questions about his fit with Palmer.

Estevao himself, however, does not regard his position in such binary terms. “For me, the most important thing is playing,” he insists. “The position doesn’t matter. I can play inside, as a No 10, or on the wing. The collective is the most important thing. I’m always available to the coach, ready to help in whatever way I can.”

He is primarily referring there to Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira, not Enzo Maresca. Estevao’s current focus is fully on ensuring that he finishes on a high with the club that gave him the platform to alert the world to his talent. His final appearance at Allianz Parque against Sporting Cristal in May was marked with the emotional presentation of a poster and a plaque, a goal and an assist, and a standing ovation from his adoring fans.

Preparations for the move to Chelsea have been in progress for the past year. Estevao is learning English, but the initial priority has understandably been football terminology; other linguistic flourishes like knowing how to ask where the nearest cinema is can wait.

Estevao told ESPN Brasil this week that his life plays in his head like a film, and some of the events unfolding around him would not look out of place in a sports movie.

His first Brazil start earlier this month ended in warm conversation and warmer embraces with Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos and Kendry Paez, his soon-to-be Chelsea teammates. Then there is this Club World Cup, which offers a unique chance to crown his Palmeiras career in its final chapter — not least because of who he will face in his last group game against Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi is another idol, the greatest of all the left-footed dribblers. Estevao shed the “Messinho” nickname he earned in Cruzeiro’s academy long ago, but not his admiration for the man who inspired it. “He’s a player I have always looked up to,” he adds. “When I was a kid, I would watch videos of him, then go out to the pitch and try to copy what I had seen.

“As soon as the final whistle blows, I’m going to run to him so we can swap shirts. But before that, I’ll be giving my everything so Palmeiras walk off the field with three points.

“I couldn’t have chosen a better way to end this stage of my career. Palmeiras is my home and being able to say goodbye while competing for a Club World Cup… it’s indescribable.”

(Top photo: Ernesto Benavides/AFP)

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