# Estêvão Willian

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. Known for his dribbling, creativity, finishing and crossing ability, he is considered as one of the most promising young players in the world.

## Early life

Estêvão was born in Franca, São Paulo, and began his youth career with the academy of Cruzeiro in 2017. 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.

## Club career
### Palmeiras

Estêvão moved to the youth academy of Palmeiras on 6 May 2021, signing a trainee contract. 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. 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.
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. At 16 years and 8 months, he became the club's fourth youngest player ever.
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.

### Chelsea

On 22 June 2024, Premier League club Chelsea announced that Estêvão would join the club in the summer of 2025, upon his eighteenth birthday. The deal reportedly commanded a €34 million fee, plus €23 million in performances-based incentives.

## International career

Estêvão was first called up to represent the Brazil U17s in October 2022 for a set of friendlies in October 2022. 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. 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.

## Style of play

Estêvão has been compared to Lionel Messi and Pelé. He originally used the nickname Messinho as a homage to Messi, due to similarities in their respective playing styles. He has also been praised for his maturity, his reading of the game and his decision making, which were all considered to be precocious.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 16 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Paulista | Paulista | Copa do Brasil | Copa do Brasil | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Palmeiras | 2023 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Palmeiras | 2024 | Série A | 31 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 |
| Palmeiras | 2025 | Série A | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 32 | 13 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 20 |
* ↑ Appearances in Copa Libertadores

### International

    As of match played 19 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Brazil | 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 4 | 0 |

## Honours

Palmeiras
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2023
* Campeonato Paulista: 2024
Individual
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Newcomer: 2024
* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the Year: 2024
* Bola de Ouro: 2024
* Troféu Mesa Redonda Best Player: 2024