Brazilian youngster Estêvão has admitted he is struggling to finish his time at Palmeiras at the Club World Cup, as he’s so excited to join Chelsea this summer.
[GE Globo cover comments](https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/palmeiras/noticia/2025/06/24/estevao-admite-dificuldade-para-focar-em-reta-final-no-palmeiras-voce-se-imagina-na-europa.ghtml) from the 18-year-old today as he prepares to join Chelsea officially at the end of this month.
Estêvão will joined Chelsea officially on July 1st, after they completed a €34m deal for the highly rated youngster in May last year.
He was left in Brazil for a year before moving to Europe when he turned 18, continuing to build on his reputation as one of the rising stars in Brazilian football.
He made his debut for Palmeiras in the Brazilian Serie A aged just 16-years-old and has also featured in the Copa Libertadores, the Copa do Brasil, and now the Club World Cup. He also has five appearances for Brazil after making his debut in September last year under Dorival Júnior.
The next step is Europe and the Premier League with Chelsea, where he is expected to initially fight for a place in the first-team squad, rather than being loaned out to the likes of Strasbourg for a year.
First, he has to finish the Club World Cup with Palmeiras, but that is easier said than done for the youngster.
_“(It’s) very difficult, it’s a dream that I’m going to make come true, knowing that I have to focus here and work,”_ he said.
_“It’s not easy, you have to keep your head here. The closer it gets, the more anxiety sets in, the butterflies in your stomach._
_“I’m trying to focus as much as possible here to leave well, with my head held high and through the front door and knowing that I gave my best. Sometimes it’s difficult, you imagine yourself in Europe, playing with several other players, with everything that Europe represents, a dream of mine. But I’m trying my best to focus my head here, because I have a lot to give to Palmeiras.”_