PALMEIRAS is seemingly the breeding ground for Brazil’s up and coming talent.
Gabriel Jesus came through the ranks there, while Danilo is making strides with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Endrick has stolen the headlines in recent times – thanks to a £51million transfer to Real Madrid at just 16 – and has undoubted potential to be football’s next superstar.
But insiders with the Verdao are now giddy about a new kid on the block who has come through the ranks and caught the attention of Europe’s top clubs, including Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich.
At just 17, Estevao Willian has the world at his very talented feet.
And because of his outstanding ability, he has already earned a very flattering nickname.
Those in the know call him Messinho, because of the similarities in his game to Argentine legend Lionel Messi.
Willian actually began his youth career at Cruzeiro in 2017, the club who famously launched Ronaldo into the stratosphere.
By 2018, aged just 10, the hype about the winger was unparalleled.
A year later, he signed a sponsorship deal with Nike.
It made him the youngest Brazilian to ink a contract with the sportswear giants, surpassing Real Madrid’s Rodrygo.
However, in 2021 Palmeiras managed to snatch Willian from their rivals – signing him on a trainee contract.
Straight away he made a difference to their youth team.
In the 2022 season, he helped the Palmeiras youth teams win the Campeonato Paulista Sub-17, Campeonato Paulista Sub-15, Copa do Brasil Sub-17 and Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17.
In the latter, he scored a hat-trick in the final to defeat Sao Paulo 3-0.
A year later, he made his professional debut for the club, coming off the bench in the 78th minute of a 1–1 draw away at Cruzeiro which sealed the Série A title win for Palmeiras.
Aged just 16 years and 8 months, he became the club’s fourth youngest player of all-time.
Last month, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 win over Liverpool (the Uruguayan less successful version) in the Copa Libertadores group stage.
By doing so, he became the third player under 17 to score in the competition, along with Endrick and Angelo Gabriel, who Chelsea snapped up in 2023 for £13million from Santos.
Blessed with electrifying dribbling skills and pace, the right-sided player who can operate through the middle has been compared to Barcelona icon Messi.
Aside from his flair, Willian also has an innate football intelligence that belies his years.
He is nicknamed Messinho because of his likeness to the brilliant Messi.
Because he is tipped for greatness, a host of the world’s top clubs are circling around him.
Chelsea have seemingly stolen a march on their rivals, but in the past he has stated his love for another club.
Messinho once stated: “[My dream is] to play for Barcelona, which is one of the best clubs in the world.
“I was born watching Neymar, Messi and Suarez play for Barcelona, and that’s the dream I have.
“I watch almost every Barca match. I’m a fan of the club. I have a great admiration for the players who play there, and I hope to be there too. Yes, it would be a dream come true.”
Palmeiras’ head of youth coach Jorge Sampaio told FIFA of his protege’s ability: “One thing these kinds of players have is a strong personality, a big ego to say: “I am, I can and I will”.
“And they do it. For these out-of-this-world talents, things come easy. It’s difficult for your average player, who make up the vast majority.”
In terms of the Messinho nickname, Sampaio added: “He prefers Estevao. The Messinho thing was put on hold, but his game is very similar to that of the Argentine.”
Time will tell if he goes on to emulate that phenomenon, and where he does it.
