Ronaldo called him ‘the next Yamal’ – and he is Chelsea’s newest South American star
Long before Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley became sporting directors at Chelsea, overseeing one of the most ambitious recruitment drives in football, they could regularly be found in South America keeping tabs on players.
Winstanley was at Brighton and Stewart at Monaco, where they worked under comparative constraints, looking for players not already lined up for the game’s wealthiest clubs.
They were, however, operating in a different sphere a few years later when it came to Estevao Willian.
Everyone knew about this compact forward smashing records throughout Brazilian youth football, but it was a case of who was prepared to take a risk, get a deal agreed and a contract signed first.
Estevao had only been playing for the Palmeiras first team for six months before Chelsea signed him and, in a world dominated by data, there were few statistics to go on.
Stewart and Winstanley are thought to have flown to Brazil to assess him personally, and then things moved quickly.
They had to act fast: Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris SaintGermain were all watching closely.
Chelsea, The i Paper was told, had been close to signing teenager Endrick from Palmeiras six months after the Todd BoehlyClearlake Capital takeover, and were bruised by the player opting for Real Madrid.
Estevao’s agent is Andre Cury, a former Nike executive who helped several Brazilians sign for Barcelona before becoming chief scout there after being instrumental in Neymar’s move. His agency represents scores of South American footballers.
This time Chelsea wrapped everything up with him and the club, paying Palmeiras £29m, plus up to £12m in performance-related adds-ons, for Estevao.
If everything said about the prodigy comes true, they could have an even better player than Endrick . Scouts in Brazil say Estevao has a rare natural talent and flair. He can, to borrow from scouting vocabulary, find solutions to any challenges thrown at him.
They believe he has a higher ceiling than Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, who many believe was unfortunate not to win the most recent Ballon d’Or. Englishman Jon Cotterill has worked as a commentator and scout in Brazil since 2002 and has watched Estevao play.
He cites a compelling “agility and change of pace” – not necessarily the quickest in a straight sprint but with that devilish ability to go up a gear when opponents don’t realise there are more to reach. “People in Brazil say he has the potential to be one of the best players in the world,” says Cotterill, author of Brazil In The World Cup: The story of the Selecao on football’s greatest stage. Certainly, it is a view shared by the great and good of Brazilian football who have queued up to laud him. Branco, a 1994 World Cup winner and whose job is to identify the best talent for the national team, said: “Since Neymar, he is the best Brazilian-born player I’ve seen.”
Last season, when Estevao reached 17 goals and assists in the Brazilian top flight aged 17, he broke the record set by Neymar.
Aged 10, he had beaten another record: becoming the youngest Brazilian to sign a contract with Nike, a feat Rodrygo, now a star for Real Madrid, achieved at 11.
You can see why temperatures – and expectations – are rising.
Brazilian legend Ronaldo recently described Estevao as “kind of like Lamine Yamal (left)” – Barcelona’s exceptional 17-year-old. “He will soon be a very big star in football.”
He is small and left-footed, and the way he dribbles and changes direction with such startling speed drew early comparisons to Lionel Messi, although he has tried to shake the “Messinho” (“Little Messi”) nickname placed around his neck some years ago.
World Cup winner Branco said: ‘Since Neymar, he is the best Brazilian-born player I’ve seen.’
Last May, after he scored the winner and shone in a Cup game against Botafogo, his manager, Abel Ferreira, said: “This player is different from everything I’ve ever seen.”
Estevao can play off the wing or as a No 10 but, intriguingly, he was told during the transfer talks that Chelsea see him in a central role, which is his preference.
He will only have turned 18 a few months before he moves to London, but the expectation is that he will be competing immediately for a place in next season’s first-team.
Estevao, who has four caps, is targeting a place in Brazil’s squad for the 2026 World Cup. These are bold ambitions and raises the question of how he will take to the Premier League. It is known as a league of giants these days, but Estevao is 5ft 7in and weighs 62kg.
“He’s lightweight,” Cotterill adds. “People talk about the robustness of the Premier League, but he’s got skills and flair.”
Equally, one of Estevao’s former teammates already has not worked out. West Ham signed Luis Guilherme from Palmeiras for about £20m last summer but are open to selling the 18-year-old.
But there’s a string of examples of smaller players thriving: David Silva, Phil Foden, Sergio Aguero. (Maybe Estevao should have joined Manchester City after all…)
And anyone questioning his resilience need only look at the
season he won the Under-17 Brazilian Championship. In one game, Estevao broke his toe in the first half but had a pain relief injection and played the second half.
Whatever the outcome of the move, Estevao represents a change in direction for Chelsea, and a belief that South America’s young talent can succeed here. Changes to recruitment rules, a consequence of Brexit, has made it harder to sign young European players but easier to sign ones from further afield.
Ecuadorian midfielder Kendry Paez will move to Chelsea in July. Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Mec starts a five-year contract in 2026, when he is 18. Argentinian defender Aaron Anselmino was signed from Boca Juniors last summer.
Estevao is the jewel in that South American crown. Sometimes heavy is the head that wears it.