‘Everyone is WRONG about Chelsea’ says next Neymar

Cameron Smith

Updated: 25 Apr 2025 09:36 BST
4 min read

Estevao Willian has confirmed he “made the right decision” to join Chelsea, despite the club’s recent struggles under Enzo Maresca.

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The Blues have only picked up 23 points from the last 51 available in the Premier League, and Champions League qualification for next season is now in major doubt given their worrying form and a tricky set of remaining fixtures.

STATS

Estêvão

M (CR)

Palmeiras

Estêvão

M (CR)

Palmeiras

28

Games
13

Goals
9

Assists

Clearlake Capital have been widely slammed for their transfer strategy since arriving at Stamford Bridge, but Estevao - who has frequently been dubbed ‘the next Neymar’ - believes the criticism aimed towards Chelsea's project is wrong.

During a tribute article to his parents for The Players Tribune, Estevao confirmed his belief that joining Chelsea is the perfect next step for his career.

“I’ve told you many times that my biggest dream is to bring the World Cup home to Brazil,” he wrote. "I think this transition to European football will help me grow even more as a player, especially since we’re going to one of the biggest clubs in the world."

Estevao continued: “A lot of people are asking me why we chose Chelsea, but they don’t understand how much Chelsea wanted me, and how much belief they have in my potential.

“Those people don’t know about the project they presented to us. To a young player, these things matter a lot, and I know we’ve made the right decision to go to London.”

© IMAGO - Estevao Willian will join Chelsea in July

The Chelsea project

Estevao will become the latest wonderkid to join Chelsea when he officially arrives in west London after the Club World Cup and he is expected to play a prominent role at Stamford Bridge next season.

Fellow South American youngster Kendry Paez, who will also join Chelsea this summer, has been tipped to join Strasbourg on loan for the 2025-26 campaign, but reports indicate that Estevao is set to remain in Enzo Maresca’s first-team.

In total, 34 players aged 23 or under have joined Chelsea since the arrival of Clearlake Capital as the club’s new owners in 2022, including the likes of Romeo Lavia, Mykhailo Mudryk and Cole Palmer.

Furthermore, Chelsea have already agreed deals for Geovany Quenda, Dario Esuggo, Dastan Satpaev, Denner, Estevao and Paez to join the club as their youth revolution continues.

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