Brazil is preparing to crown its new ‘O Rei’: Estevao Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (Franca, 2007). ‘Messinho’, as he is nicknamed for his devotion to Leo Messi, has surpassed all the precocity records of Neymar, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Ronaldo, Endrick…
His last goal, in the victory against Gremio (1-0), made the Palmeiras winger the first player under 18 years of age to participate in 20 goals in an edition of the Brasileirao. He had just broken, weeks ago, Neymar’s record, who in 2009 ‘made’ 16 goals: he scored 10 and assisted on six.
Estevão proved to be one of the great promises of Brazilian football
Neymar: “Estevao will be a genius”
‘Ney’ himself was the first to congratulate him: “Congratulations on the record. I hope you continue to shine and make everyone fall in love with your football.” Weeks ago, the former Santos, Barcelona and PSG player had already given him his blessing: “Estevao is the greatest emerging talent in Brazil. He will be a genius.”
Neymar’s congratulations to Estevao.Instagram
His season is so good that ‘Messinho’ is, at the same time, the ‘top scorer’ and the top assistant of the Brasileirao. He has 12 goals, one more than Pedro (Flamengo) and eight assists on goal, the same as Rodrigo Garro (Corinthians). Not only that. He is also the one with the most drives into the entire area (53), the one with the most shots on goal (31), the third with the most dribbles (70) and the fifth with the most goal-scoring actions (117).
The fifth youngest player to debut for Brazil (17 years and 135 days) can also become the youngest top scorer in the history of the Brasileirao. Ferretti (1968), Amoroso (1994) and Keirrison (2008) achieved it when they were 19 years old.
Youngest players to debut for Brazil
Pelé: 16 years and 257 days (1957)Edu: 16 years and 303 days (1966)Coutinho: 17 years and 28 days (1960)
Endrick: 17 years and 118 days (2023)
Estevao: 17 years and 135 days (2024)
Ronaldo: 17 years and 183 days (1994)
He has already surpassed, in fact, the 11 goals that Endrick scored last season. “He’s a star. A phenomenon. I’m happy because we played together and I knew he was capable of this,” predicted the Real Madrid attacker.
Estevao is a crack. A phenomenon. I’m happy because we played together and I knew I was capable of this
Endrick
“He is better than Vinicius at 17 years old”
“I saw many players, but Estevao, with all due respect to the others, is the best player to come out of Brazil since Neymar. The rest are spectacular, phenomenal, but this boy is something more,” says former international Claudio Branco, coordinator of the Brazilian Football Confederation.
The Palmeiras player has stood out and shone at Copinha, showing sublime quality and above his age
“Estevao is the best player to emerge since Neymar. You look at him and you fall in love,” reiterates Joao Paulo Sampaio, coach of the Palmeiras Academy, to the ‘BBC’. “Estevao still has a long way to go to become Neymar, but, being so young, I don’t remember a boy with that quality. He is better than Vinicius at 17 years old and has better fundamentals, such as shooting from outside the area “says Kléber de Sousa Freitas, formerly of Sao Paulo, Cruzeiro, Palmeiras and Gremio.
Estevao still has a long way to go to become Neymar, but, being so young, I don’t remember a boy with that quality
Kléber de Sousa Freitas
Of course, to talk about ‘Messinho’ and Neymar, there are few better than André Cury, the agent who brought ‘Ney’ to PSG and who has closed the transfer of Estevao Willian to Chelsea for 61.5 million euros, the highest sale of the history of Palmeiras.
The numbers of Vini, ‘Ney’ and Estevao after 28 games
Vinicius –> 5 goals and 3 assists Neymar –> 4 goals and 6 assists Estevao –> 12 goals and 8 assists
“I don’t know if he will be better than Neymar because I don’t have a crystal ball, but, if you take Neymar and Estevao at 17 years old, Willian is one step above. Obviously, that doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know if he will be better in the future “, he clarifies.
I don’t know if he will be better than Neymar, but at 17 years old he is one step above
André Cury
In Brazil there are those who even dare to compare him with two of his contemporaries: Lamine Yamal and Endrick. “I think Estevao will be the one who goes the furthest of the three. He is fast, vertical and shoots well, even from a distance,” journalist Milton Neves dares to predict.
“Be the best in the world”
Estevao, a declared admirer of Neymar, is clear about his medium-long-term goal: “My biggest dream is to be the best in the world. One day I will be among the best. I don’t even want to predict when. It will be in a few years, naturally.” .
The performance graph of Estevao.Fbref
He will have to do it as a Chelsea player: “I decided on them because of their planning. The club believed in me and I hope to return that trust.” ‘Messinho’ is now ‘O Rei’.
