Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (born 24 April 2007), known as Estevão Willian or simply Estevão, is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a winger for

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...

club

Palmeiras Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is one ...

. He is considered one of the best football prospects in the world. He is also known as "Messinho", named after arguably one of the greatest football players of all times,

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

Career

Estêvão Willian was born in

Franca Franca is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northeastern portion of the state, distant 401 km (249 mi) from the state capital (São Paulo), and 676 km (420 mi) from Brasilia. It covers a total area of ...

, Brazil, and began his youth career with the academy of Cruzeiro in 2017. He originally used the nickname Messinho as an homage to

, due to similarities in their playing style. The following year 2018 at the age of 10, Estêvão signed a professional contract with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, making him their youngest Brazilian player to sign with the company surpassing Rodrygo Goes. He moved to the youth academy of

on 6 May 2021, signing a trainee contract. In the 2022 season, he helped the Palmeiras youth teams win the , , Copa do Brasil Sub-17 and Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17. In October 2023, he scored a hat-trick in the Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17 final which ended in a 3–0 victory against São Paulo FC, São Paulo, to help his club to achieve their second consecutive title in the competition.

International career

Estêvão Willian was first called up to represent the Brazil national under-17 football team, Brazil U17s in October 2022 for a set of friendlies in October 2022.

Honours

Club

Palmeiras * : 2021 * : 2021 * Copa do Brasil Sub-17: 2022 * Campeonato Brasileiro Sub-17: 2022, 2023

References

External links

Estevão Willian
at playmakerstats.com (English version of ogol.com.br)
Palmeiras profile
{{Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras squad Living people 2007 births People from Franca Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players