ESTEVAO WILLIAN has made a habit of hitting the ground running.
The Brazilian wonderkid’s sensational start to life at Chelsea has banished any fears he might struggle to adapt after his high-profile transfer across the Atlantic from Palmeiras.
And Estevao made an instant impression when he made the first big move of his young career.
He was just eight when he and his family upped sticks from their home in Franca, Sao Paulo, to set up home nearly 300 miles away in Belo Horizonte so he could join Cruzeiro’s academy.
Daniel Simoes, sports co-ordinator at Estevao’s new school Batista Mineiro, said: “The futsal coach nearly had a heart attack watching Estevao in action in his first training session.
“I walked up to the school court and spotted the coach, and I’ll always remember his first words to me, bursting with excitement.
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“He said Estevao was the boss, controlling everything from north to south and east to west in the training session. He told me he’d never seen anything like it — an eight-year-old totally owning a session with such confidence.
“Estevao had this incredible intelligence and fearlessness with the ball.
“His ball control was out of this world and he set the pace of the game.
“He’d even direct his team-mates on the court, telling them what to do.
“The decisions he made were way beyond what you would expect from an eight or nine-year-old.
“To really get Estevao’s vibe, imagine watching a pro athlete.
“We all said it — he was like an alien with superpowers when he had the ball.
“Estevao was a happy kid with a big smile, but on the field, he was all business. His attitude was otherworldly.”
But it was not all plain sailing for Estevao and his family. Dad Ivo Goncalves, a pastor, later told Brazilian media company GE Globo: “We left Franca moving in a pick-up truck. It was very, very difficult to leave everything behind — family, job. Many people called us crazy.
“I only had enough money for the first month’s rent. Back then, we went through some difficult times.”
Simoes recalled: “I was the one who met him and his family on his first day.
“Batista Mineiro is a non-profit school and when Estevao arrived in Belo Horizonte, they didn’t have the financial means to cover the school fees.
“Back then, the monthly expenses were about 400 dollars but we managed to get him a scholarship.
“Of course, there were other costs like books, school clothes, food and transportation, which his agent covered while advising his parents.
“In the mornings, he studied like any other student, then trained with Cruzeiro and later joined our futsal team for evening practices twice a week.
“He had a packed schedule with studies and sports, and he was a good student too, not to mention his incredible football skills at such a young age.
“As a student and athlete, he was exemplary, both in our facilities and when representing our school in tournaments.”
It was at a regional futsal competition in the summer of 2016 that Estevao had his first taste of fame at the age of nine.
Having earned the Messinho nickname for his Messi-like left-footed wizardry, he was soon also drawing comparisons with previous Brazilian wonderkids.
Estevao was only TEN when he signed his first sponsorship deal with Nike, the youngest Brazilian player ever to do so — beating Real Madrid star Rodrygo by a year and current Santos captain Neymar by three.
Simoes added: “That shows Estevao’s professionalism even as a kid.
Estevao’s talent was so amazing that players from other teams — and their parents — would come just to watch him play. I’m not exaggerating.”
Things were moving fast.
Simoes said: “His progress was like lightning.
“When Estevao turned 12, he started training more seriously with Cruzeiro because everyone knew he was destined for greatness.
“Unfortunately for us, Estevao moved to Sao Paulo and signed with Palmeiras, enrolling in a school linked to Batista Mineiro there.
“When he was at Palmeiras, all his former teachers and coaches at Batista Mineiro school, and even some parents would say, ‘That’s our Estevao’.
“It wasn’t a surprise because we already knew what he was capable of.”
Estevao’s star is rising fast again after his £29million move to Chelsea, which could rise to £54m with add-ons.
But the 18-year-old clearly remembers his schooldays fondly and appreciates the value of a good education.
The Estevao Willian Foundation plans to open an Institute next year in his hometown of Franca to give up to 3,000 local kids access to language classes, sport, dance and the arts.
Simoes said: “Estevao has invited me to the official opening of the school he is building in Franca.
“I think he totally gets what it took to make it to the top in football, including all the sacrifices his parents made early on.
“He’s got the right mindset and a big heart, wanting to support all the kids in Franca with their education so they have more opportunities down the road.
“The last time I saw him was at his farewell match in Brazil, Palmeiras versus Cruzeiro, before he signed with Chelsea.
“On behalf of our school, we gave him a jersey that day. Later, through his father, he sent me his Chelsea jersey.
“It’s a great source of pride that Estevao remembers me and everyone who was part of his educational journey in Belo Horizonte.”
Estevao earned the nickname ‘Messinho’ because his playing style was so reminiscent of Messi
Daniel Simoes,
Estevao was first compared to Argentine icon Lionel Messi at the age of NINE.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca put Estevao in the same bracket as Cole Palmer after he became the Blues’ youngest Champions League goalscorer in the 5-1 rout of Ajax.
But SunSport can reveal the origins of the nickname Messinho — ‘little Messi’ — that the Brazilian has lived with for nearly a decade.
Simoes added: “Estevao played in a big tournament in Belo Horizonte called the Brazilian Schools Mercantil Cup. In one match, he scored eight goals.
“Later during the final, more and more people gathered behind the fence, lining up on the street to see him play. It was something else.”
The youngster’s performance in this futsal competition was perfectly timed for him to be mentioned in the same breath as Messi.
Simoes added: “We won the final, and the journalists rushed onto the field to interview him.
“All the players from rival teams voted Estevao as the tournament’s best player.
“In that split second, I thought: ‘What a privilege to witness this’. I truly believed we were seeing the birth of a future world football star.
“The day before that, Argentina had crushed the United States 4-0 in the 2016 Copa America semi-final with a sensational performance from Leo Messi.
“Estevao earned the nickname ‘Messinho’ because his playing style was so reminiscent of Messi.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says Estevao’s fellow Brazilians, Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos, have been crucial to his swift adaptation to life in England.
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Pedro was 18, like Estevao, when he joined Watford in 2020 and had two seasons at Brighton before moving to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Santos was also 18 when he arrived in January 2023.
Maresca said: “They are helping Estevao a lot. Us as a club, we just try to help him, not just with Estevao, with all the young players that come from abroad.”
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