Estêvão didn’t think twice about how to celebrate his move to Chelsea. As soon as he had signed from Palmeiras in a deal that could top £51m, the Brazilian decided to honour Cole Palmer and usher in what could be a new era for the English club.
“When I signed for Chelsea, the next day I scored a goal and celebrated like Palmer. His celebration was trend, very popular,” says Estêvão before discussing his first interaction with the England forward. “We talked on social media, I tagged him on Instagram, he called me a star, I said he’s a star too. He said we’re going to do a lot of great things together for Chelsea.”
Palmer’s promise to his future teammate may come as a surprise to many, but not to those who have been following Estêvão’s progress in Brazil. At the age of 17 he is the country’s most exciting young talent since Neymar.
In addition to his performances, which have been described as superior to those of Vinícius Júnior and Endrick at the same age, the prodigy also exhibits less exotic behaviour than his predecessors, who have adopted a more public profile surrounded by celebrities.
Big names in the Brazil national team have also been impressed by Estêvão. Called up for the first time recently for the games against Ecuador and Paraguay, which Brazil won and lost 1-0 respectively, he presented his calling card to the country’s No 1 goalkeeper. “In shooting training, I started to hit all the shots and Alisson got a bit angry. He said he was still warming up, that I should wait a little bit. But I took it a bit seriously and scored many goals [against] him,” Estêvão laughs. “He took it all in jest, but I hope that next year I can do again against him in [Premier League] matches. We’ll see a lot of each other in England.”
Estêvão used his talent to overcome his nervousness over being called up to his country’s senior ranks. “The first few days you get nervous, there’s no way round it. You get more shy, but then you start to get more intimate and chat to the guys in training,” he says. “This helps a lot because on the pitch you show that you have potential and why you’re there. Then it becomes easier and they start to accept you.”
At the same time as having to deal with the stars of world football, Estêvão also has teenage things to attend to, such as schoolwork, which he considers even more difficult than his football opponents. “School is the rest of my day. It’s not easy,” he beams. “There are some very difficult subjects. Physics is the hardest. It’s very difficult to remember the formulas, how to work it out.”
Since the beginning of the year, Estêvão has been taking online classes because of Palmeiras’ training and match schedule. When he moves to Chelsea next year, he will need to maintain his school routine. “I will study in London as well,” Estêvão says. “But I will continue at the same school, I will continue studying online, like nowadays.”
Despite not being an exemplary student, Estêvão misses going to school and socialising with people his own age. “At Palmeiras, I end up seeing the same person every day. When you’re at school, you see lots of different students, your class is always changing, new people are joining the school,” he says. “You have your best friend there. I miss that. At school there are people with the same age as me too. At football, they are older, more experienced people. Everyone treats me well, but it’s different.”
The move to London will be the fourth of Estêvão’s life. Born in Franca, in the countryside of São Paulo, he moved to Belo Horizonte at the age of eight to play for Cruzeiro. From a poor background, he remembers the difficulties of that time and compares them to going to London.
“The hardest move was from Franca to Belo Horizonte,” he says. “It was the first time, I was very young, it meant being away from my family, the people I liked, school. It was a very different environment, a very different time. The journey was very difficult. I remember we managed to get the whole move in a van and a lorry came behind. It was a big struggle. Now London will be easier. You don’t have to take things in the van, you can buy everything there.”
Estêvão has been dealing with fame since the age of 10, when he was featured in a television report. The appearance brought him into the national spotlight and led to the signing of his first contract with a sports equipment company. That deal also raised doubts about his future, with many fearing Estêvão’s early fame would hinder his rise. “It all happened very quickly, but my parents helped me a lot,” he says “They shielded me from everything that came from outside. I never had much contact with what was going on, what people were saying or thinking about it. I’m very grateful to my parents for everything they did for me because that shielding was very important.
“My father [Ivo] helps me more on the pitch, my mother [Hetiene] helps me off it. She helped me understand things about the day, life, the importance of eating well and to adapt to each new place. We’ve moved around a lot. She’s always done everything for me. Can you imagine leaving home, being away from your parents, to build a dream with me like my mum did? My mum plays a fundamental role in my life. She’s the one who charges me on a daily basis and helps me understand life better.”
Raised in a deeply religious environment, Estêvão learned to play the drums in church and uses music to help him concentrate and relax before matches. “I learned to play the drums when I was about six, seven years old,” he says. “I saw a friend of my father’s playing in church and I started to like it. Music helps me a lot. I grew up in church, I listen to a lot of gospel music. I always listen to it before matches. But I listen to my own music, if I listen to my mates’ music, I’m lost. The guys like really dirty music.”
For many years, Estêvão has been dubbed Messinho: “Little Messi”. It is a label and comparison that bothers the Brazilian but he admits the Argentinian is his great inspiration. “I like Neymar a lot too, Cristiano Ronaldo. But my reference is [Lionel] Messi for everything he’s done for football,” Estêvão says. “The way he plays and what he does off the pitch is a guy I always have to look up to. And, of course, for me being left-footed like him favours as well.
“Some people are born with talent, others have to work hard. Good examples are Messi and Ronaldo. Messi has the talent, Ronaldo the effort. I look for both. Talent and dedication. Today in football you have to dedicate yourself, you have to keep to a schedule, train, travel, take care of yourself. You have to give up a lot. Without dedication you can’t get anywhere.”
Estêvão can emphasise the importance of effort, but quality makes the difference. He is proof of that. “I started out as a goalkeeper because my father was a goalkeeper,” says Estêvão.
“I used to go to games with him, the games were on dirt pitches. I saw him playing a lot. I liked watching him and then I started to like it, I wanted to be a goalkeeper because of him, but later I decided to play on the line. It was a good decision to have switched positions, otherwise I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Coveted by many big clubs in European football, Estêvão opted for Chelsea and is looking forward to joining them ahead of next season. “I decided for Chelsea because of their planning. I was very pleased with that,” he says. “Not just for me, but also for my family. It was the club that believed in me and trusted in my work. I hope I can pay that back.”
One of the plans offered to Estêvão was the chance to play as a No 10, the position in which he played at youth level, rather than as a right winger, whereas he has appeared for Palmeiras and the Brazil national team.
Does he worry, however, that he will not prove a success at Stamford Bridge, as was the case for Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and Romelu Lukaku? “That doesn’t worry me because each one is different,” he says. “I don’t know the context or what they were like. I’m going to have to find my space and I’m going to have to give my all effort every day.”
Estêvão is still so young but having achieved so much already he has a clear mind with regards to his future, not to mention big ambitions. “I want to win titles and show all my potential, show everything I can do,” he says. “Champion of the World Cup, Premier League and Champions League. That’s what I want.
“My biggest dream is to be the best player in the world. That’s my dream. One day I’ll be among the best. But I’m not going to promise or project that I’ll achieve this in a few years. It’ll come naturally.”