How ‘Little Messi’ Estêvão rose from Palmeiras to Chelsea
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Sam Tighe
Even by the lofty standards of Brazilian wonderkids, the hype around Chelsea’s 18-year-old forward Estêvão has officially hit overdrive.
Estêvão signed from Palmeiras in 2024 for an initial €34 million ($37 million) — with performance-related add-ons potentially taking the total to a figure in the region of €67 million — but had to wait until he turned 18 this summer to move to Europe. Now finally part of the Premier League squad, he has immediately impressed, with one goal — a 95th-minute winner against Liverpool — and an assist from nine games in all competitions so far.
Last year, his coach at Palmeiras, Abel Ferreira, said: “This kid is different from everything I have ever seen.” In the time since, praise has come from all quarters. Brazil legend Neymar insisted he thinks Estêvão is a “genius,” and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland labeled him a “wonderkid.”
Of course, there’s a temptation to worry that such pressure and comparisons to some of the greatest in the game could sink yet another young career before it really begins. But, like Neymar, Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and more before him, Estêvão seems extremely well prepared for the spotlight.
ESPN spoke to one of Estêvão’s youth coaches at Palmeiras, Rogério Ferreira, to hear the story of how tough love and hard work saw the left-footed right winger begin to fulfill his remarkable potential before his move to London.
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‘Use your right foot. Because if you don’t, you won’t play’
It’s common for Brazilian prodigies to make headlines at a very early age, long before they step onto a senior pitch. Such is the thirst of the nation for talented young players and the impactful, wide reach of social media. Estêvão was no different, as he was handed a sponsorship deal with Nike at age 10.
“He arrived at Palmeiras at 14 years old,” Ferreira recalls. “He came from Cruzeiro [in 2021], the same club who created Ronaldo Nazário. Everybody in Brazil already knew who he was; there were videos of him playing since he was 11 years old.”
His move from Cruzeiro to Palmeiras was also a bitter one, due to its being aided in part by the former’s FIFA transfer ban that prevented it from even signing up scholars. Naturally, this transfer drama further heightened the intrigue around a talented teenager who had been nicknamed “Messinho” (Little Messi) — in part due to his wonderful left foot — although he wasn’t a fan of the comparison.
“I don’t remember who came up with it, but it just caught on straightaway,” Estêvão told FourFourTwo recently. “Neither I nor my family ever liked it much. Sometimes a nickname like that becomes a burden you didn’t ask for. You just want to play football, to do what you love — but that kind of label adds a pressure that’s not yours. Thankfully, I was able to leave it behind when I moved to Palmeiras.”
But his start to life at Palmeiras wasn’t easy. “He had knee surgery when he arrived, so he didn’t play for about five months. He was very small … tiny,” Ferreira says. “By coincidence, when he finally came for his first training session, I was just warming up the team with simple long balls and headers … and he didn’t want to head the ball!
“I went to him and said ‘Look, “Little Messi” my ass, you will head the ball and your right foot is terrible, so work on it!’
“He was earning a lot of money. Too much, at 14 years old. But I said, ‘I don’t give a s—; you head the ball and you use your right foot, because if you don’t, you won’t play.’
“He looked at me [shocked and disturbed]. But he had a different personality. The day after he came to me and said: ‘Coach, I’m going to [follow the instructions] and I’m going to play.'”
And play he did. Estêvão made his professional debut off the bench in a 1-1 draw at his old club Cruzeiro on Dec. 6, 2023, aged 16 years and eight months — becoming the fourth-youngest Palmeiras player in their 111-year history — as the club sealed back-to-back Brazilian league titles.
Nine months later, having already played for the Brazil U-20s at age 15, he became the fifth-youngest player in Brazil senior team history, coming off the bench against Ecuador in a 1-0 victory during World Cup qualifying.
The challenge laid at Estêvão’s feet by his coach now looks prescient. His first senior goal, scored for Palmeiras in the 2024 Copa Libertadores, was a header; his first assist for Chelsea was a cutback cross to Enzo Fernández with his right foot; and his first goal for the Blues, that 95th-minute winner against reigning English champions Liverpool, was also tucked away at the back post with his right.
For Ferreira, these are particularly special moments. After Estêvão’s first goal in the Copa, the coach texted him “You did it!” in celebration, as years of hard work had come to fruition.
‘Aware of his weaknesses’
Academy players at Palmeiras are trained in multiple positions as standard. Versatility can be crucial to making a living in the sport later down the line, and occupying different areas of the pitch enhances the overall understanding of the game and poses fresh questions.
As impressive as Estêvão was cutting in off the right flank onto his stronger left foot, he was no exception to this rule.
“Football was too easy for him, he was beating everybody, deciding games,” Ferreira says. “So you put him in the center; you put him on the left side. Players can always improve when facing some difficulties that will force solutions from them, if they are able to put up with it. This is very important throughout the formation of the young players.
“He did some unbelievable things, even though he was smaller, because he was very intelligent. His capability of living in difficult situations was unbelievable, just unbelievable.”
Ferreira coached a number of exceptional young talents who came through at Palmeiras over the years, including Real Madrid’s Endrick, but had no hesitation in labelling Estêvão “the most talented player I’ve worked with by far.”
“His mentality is amazing,” Ferreira says. “But not only did he have the capability to learn more, he was eager to. He was aware of his weaknesses. This is the difference.”
Estêvão managed a total of 27 goals and 15 assists from his 83 games for the Palmeiras senior team but, standing just 5-foot-7, he is fully aware that life in the Premier League is going to require him to change.
“Of course, I know I’ll need to build a stronger, more intense physical presence at some point, but I’m not overly worried about it,” he told FourFourTwo. “There will be a thorough process to achieve that, but I know what I bring to the pitch, my qualities, my ability to influence a game. Strength isn’t always the deciding factor. I really believe in my potential.”
High expectations
Estêvão’s Chelsea career is just 341 minutes old, yet he’s already the talk of the town. Perhaps that won’t bother him at all, though, given he has been a star — in one way or another — for nearly a decade.
He’s also eight caps and three goals into what looks set to be an illustrious international career with Brazil. Health permitting, he’ll be at the 2026 World Cup and push the likes of Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Raphinha all the way for playing time. But he’s also still a kid, still finding his way in a very new world.
“A lot of people expect a lot of him,” Ferreira says. “It’s a lot to adapt to. Estêvão, Endrick, they are used to using these players [that they have become clubmates with] in video games; now they are speaking to them, playing with them. It will take a while for him to realize, it’s no favor they’re doing for him to be there — he is one of them.”
So far for Chelsea, the 18-year-old has provided sporadic moments that hint at something truly special, and it will be intriguing to see how much longer manager Enzo Maresca holds him at arm’s length from a consistent starting spot in the XI. He looks ready to truly explode, but it seems he is willing to wait.
“I want to settle quickly,” he said. “It’s a dream come true to play in the biggest competitions, the Premier League and the Champions League. The 2026 World Cup is a goal too, but first, I have to prove myself at Chelsea.”