.jpg) Estêvão withPalmeiras in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2007-04-24)24 April 2007 (age 18)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Franca, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 41 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2021 | Cruzeiro | ||
| 2021–2024 | Palmeiras | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2025 | Palmeiras | 62 | (18) |
| 2025– | Chelsea | 10 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | Brazil U17 | 5 | (3) |
| 2024– | Brazil | 11 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:12, 8 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 02:54, 19 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (born 24 April 2007), known asEstêvão (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation:[isˈte.vɐ̃w̃]), is a Brazilian professionalfootballer who plays as awinger forPremier League clubChelsea and theBrazil national team. He is regarded as one of the best young players in the world.[3][4]
Born inFranca,São Paulo, Estêvão began his youth career with the academy ofCruzeiro in 2017.[5] The following year, in 2018, at the age of 10, Estêvão signed a professional contract withNike, making him the youngest Brazilian player to sign with the company, surpassingReal Madrid forwardRodrygo.[6]
Estêvão moved to the youth academy ofPalmeiras on 6 May 2021, signing a trainee contract.[7] 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 andCampeonato Brasileiro Sub-17.[8] In October 2023, Estêvão scored a hat-trick in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17 final which ended in a 3–0 victory againstSão Paulo, helping his club to achieve their second consecutive title in the competition.[9]
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 atCruzeiro which sealed theSérie A title win forVerdão.[10] At 16 years and 8 months, he became the club's fourth youngest player ever.[11]
Estêvão returned to thePalmeiras U-20 team for theCopinha 2024, and emerged as a standout in the tournament and an important player for his team.. On 12 April 2024, he scored his first goal for Palmeiras in a 3–1 win overLiverpool during the2024 Copa Libertadores group stage, becoming the third player under 17 to achieve this feat followingÂngelo Gabriel andEndrick.[12]
On 4 July 2025, Estêvão played his final game for Palmeiras in the quarter-finals of the2025 FIFA Club World Cup, facing the very team he was set to join,Chelsea. He scored the equaliser against his future club, though Palmeiras were ultimately eliminated.[13]
On 22 June 2024,Premier League clubChelsea announced that Estêvão would join the club in the summer of 2025, on his eighteenth birthday.[14][15][16] The deal reportedly commanded a €34 million fee, plus €23 million in performances-based incentives.[16] Estêvão was unveiled 14 months later by Chelsea on 5 August 2025, the player opting to keep the number 41 which he wore during his time at Verdão.[17]
On 17 August 2025, he made his debut forChelsea in a goalless draw againstCrystal Palace atStamford Bridge coming on as asubstitute forJamie Gittens.[18] On 22 August, he made his first start for Chelsea in a 5–1 win againstWest Ham United, providing an assist forEnzo Fernández.[19] On 4 October, he scored his first goal for Chelsea with a composed 95th-minute finish in a 2–1 victory overrivalsLiverpool atStamford Bridge, turning inMarc Cucurella's cross after fine interplay withEnzo Fernández. The goal, described byThe Athletic as "a stunning late winner" that condemned the reigning champions to a third straight defeat, was hailed by Chelsea supporters as an early glimpse of his exceptional composure on the biggest stage.[20] Later that month, on 22 October, he scored his firstUEFA Champions League goal from a penalty in a 5–1 victory overAjax,[21] becoming the youngest Chelsea player to score in the competition at 18 years and 181 days old.[22] Later that year, on 25 November, he scored a goal in a 3–0 victory overBarcelona, becoming the third teenager to score in each of his first three Champions League starts, only behindKylian Mbappé andErling Haaland.[23]
Estêvão was first called up to represent theBrazil U17s in October 2022 for a set of friendlies in October 2022.[24] He was selected for theBrazil national team for the first time on 23 August 2024, to participate in the2026 FIFA World Cup qualification againstEcuador and theParaguay.[25] He debuted on 6 September 2024 against Ecuador at theEstádio Couto Pereira, substitutingLuiz Henrique in the 61st minute as Brazil won 1–0.[26]
On 4 September 2025, during2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, Estêvão scored his first international goal in Brazil's 3–0 win againstChile.[27]
Estêvão has been compared toLionel Messi andNeymar.[28] He originally used the nicknameMessinho as a homage to Messi, due to similarities in their respective playing styles.[29] He has also been praised for his maturity, his reading of the game and his decision making, which were all considered to be precocious.[30]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Palmeiras | 2023 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | 31 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 7[d] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 15 | |||
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | 5[d] | 4 | 5[e] | 1 | 37 | 12 | |||
| Total | 43 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | 12 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 83 | 27 | |||
| Chelsea | 2025–26 | Premier League | 10 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5[f] | 3 | — | 17 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 53 | 14 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 100 | 32 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 | 7 | 5 | |
| Total | 11 | 5 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 2025 | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 |  Chile | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 October 2025 | Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea | 8 |  South Korea | 1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 15 November 2025 | Emirates Stadium, London, England | 10 |  Senegal | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 5 | 18 November 2025 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France | 11 |  Tunisia | 1–1 | 1–1 |
Palmeiras
Individual
