da luck: World Cup winner Branco has claimed Estevao Willian, who will join Chelsea in 2025, is the best player Brazil has produced since Neymar.
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Estevao lauded by former Brazil star
Better than Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo & Endrick
Wonderkid will join Chelsea in 2025WHAT HAPPENED?
In his glowing praise of Estevao, Branco effectively placed the 17-year-old on a pedestal above Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick, perhaps Brazilian football's three biggest exports of the last 10 years.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Estevao, who has followed closely in the footsteps of Endrick at Palmeiras – around a year his senior, will officially join Chelsea in the summer transfer window of 2025 once he has turned 18. Given that the total deal could be worth £56 million ($71m), expectations about what the winger can do are high.
WHAT BRANCO SAID
"Estevao, for me, since Neymar, he is the greatest player I've seen born in Brazil," ex-Selecao left-back Branco told . "This is my opinion. This is Brazil, they're all spectacular but this boy, his ceiling is a bit higher."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ESTEVAO WILLIAN?
Estevao will spent the rest of 2024 and the first half of 2025 in Brazil with Palmeiras. With team-mate Endrick now having left to join Real Madrid, the spotlight on him will likely grow. With the club making a strong start to the Brasileirao season, there is every chance during that time they could retain the national title they won in 2023.