Chelsea star Estevao Willian delivers heartfelt message after last game ahead of £51m transfer

Estevao Willian has penned his goodbye to Palmeiras after playing his last game for the club. He will now leave to join Chelsea having agreed to the move last summer.

On Saturday morning, Estevao scored against Chelsea for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup. His equaliser shortly after half-time in the quarter-final put the knockout tie in the balance only for a late own goal to send Palmeiras out.

Estevao, in the process, demonstrated exactly why Chelsea have committed to paying more than £51million if all the add-ons in his deal are met. He will be part of Enzo Maresca's senior first-team squad next season.

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After joining as a child, Estevao leaves as one of the most exciting teenagers in world football.Still only 18, he has more than a full year of adult football under his belt with plenty of evidence justifying the hype and being put in the same talent bracket as Neymar.

Estevao surpassed Neymar's goal contributing output at the same age during his record-breaking 2024 Serie A campaign. He has followed that up with an impressive Club World Cup.

The journey came to an end against Chelsea over the weekend, but it marks the start of a new chapter individually. Writing on Instagram on Saturday afternoon, Estevao said: [Translated] "Thank you Palm Trees [green heart emoji]

"I am eternally grateful to Palmeiras for everything he has provided me so far from this time, athletes and committee from the base to the professional, fans, all of you were essential for me to get to where I am, it was a great pleasure and privilege to wear the Palmeiras shirt that will be marked for the rest of the my story, again thank you so much [green heart and prayer hands emoji]".

Speaking after the match in Philadelphia, Estevao also said: "I knew this would be my last competition wearing the Palmeiras shirt, so I tried to enjoy it as much as I could with my teammates. They’re my family - I carry each one of them close to my heart.

"My family and I thank Palmeiras for everything they’ve done for us. Thank you, Palmeiras. I was very happy here - all my teammates and the coaching staff embraced me, so it’s sad to be saying farewell under these circumstances. I hope the fans never forget me, because I will never forget them."

His manager, Abel Ferreira, was also forthcoming with praise. "I spoke before with Maresca and told him 'you bought an amazing player but more than this you bought an amazing person'," he said.

"You need to take care of him. You need to embrace him and in the beginning for sure he will make mistakes. Like you saw today he is an amazing player with a lot of skill. He is a player who can win a game alone."

Even Maresca, who has largely been tight-lipped over Estevao, was drawn to comment on the winger. "Happy because we won and also happy because Estevao scored, the perfect night. He is very good, a huge talent, fantastic player," he admitted. "The only thing is when you come from South America or another part of the world is that you need to adapt.

"We are going to help him to adapt, be happy and enjoy football. We have no doubt he will be an important player for Chelsea."