ESPN.com.brNov 15, 2023, 10:26Reading: 2 min.
With one goal and three assists, the attacking midfielder Stephenjust 16 years old, from Palm treeswas one of the highlights of the Brazilian team in the 9-0 defeat of New Caledonia, in a match held last Tuesday (14), in the under-17 World Cup.
Estevão’s great performance earned praise from the Spanish press, who called the boy from Verdão “new genius of Brazilian football”, something written by the diary TO THE after the gala performance. The publication also highlighted the rapprochement between Estevão and Barcelona.
Called “Messinho”, the boy spoke about what he knew about Barcelona in a recent interview with the daily Mundo Deportivo.
“I watch almost all Barça games, I’m a fan of the club. I have great admiration for the players who play there and I hope to be there too. Playing for Barcelona, which is one of the best clubs in the world, is my dream. I was born watching Neymar, Messi and Suárez play for Barcelona and that is the dream I have”, said the boy.
With a contract with Palmeiras until 2026 and under a fine of 60 million euros (almost R$320 million), Estevão has been under the Catalans’ target for months.
A facilitator for the jewel’s possible trip to Camp Nou in the future is the fact that the athlete is managed by Andre Cury, a businessman who has close relations with the Catalan management.
In addition to Barcelona, whoever came close to signing him in the recent past was PSG. In December 2022, the French club made numerous offers to Palmeiras, with the intention of even closing a “package” with Endrick and Estevão, for 80 million euros (R$448 million), rejected by Verdão.
The tendency is for Barcelona to intensify negotiations for Estevão with Palmeiras in the near future. In the current season, the boy has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 32 matches.
