Brazil has long been a hotbed of footballing talent but there is something special about the generation of youngsters at Palmeiras. So much so that a promising crop of teenagers had been dubbed by the media as “Geração do Bilhão“. They are very confident that these special youngsters will generate over a billion Brazilian Real (around £152m). for the São Paulo club. So allow us take a look at the members of “Geração do Bilhão” and the moves they are making on the international stage:
Luighi,
Luighi is the only one of the golden generation yet to agree on a move away from the Verdã. At the time of writing, he is also yet to have made his full debut for Palmeiras, but this has not stopped Italian giants Internazionale from developing an interest in signing the youngster.
Luis Guilherme
Luis Guilherme will be heading to West Ham this summer for an impressive fee of around £25.5m. The 18-year-old will be new manager Julen Lopetegui’s first signing, joining the club on a five-year deal. Guilherme made his Palmeiras debut as a 17-year-old in 2023 and has gone on to make 40 senior appearances for Palmeiras, winning the Brazilian Série A title in the process. The youngster is so valued, that Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira was reportedly extremely reluctant to let him go even going as far as asking Leila Pereira, the club president, not to sell.
Estêvão
Like his compatriot, Estêvão Willian will be swapping the sunshine of São Paulo for London as he joins Chelsea. However, his €34 million fee will only be completed in the summer of 2025 when the youngster turns 18. Of the four players mentioned in this piece, Estêvão has generated the most hype domestically and is expected to go on and have a bright future with the Seleção.
The man that he is expected to take over from in the national side, Neymar, has forecasted a bright future for Palmeiras’ teenage forward, proclaiming that the youngster is “going to be a genius”. A right winger who can also play as number 10. Estêvão has been turning heads all over Brazil for years and even earned the nickname ‘Messinho’. High praise indeed however it is a nickname that admittedly he is not very fond of in his humility.
Endrik
Arguably the best well-known of the quartet Endrik has not only already made his international debut but has 3 goals to his name at the tender age of 17. Including a famous one against England making him the youngest player in football history to score a goal for his club or country at the historic Wembley Stadium.
His self-esteem is so high, that O Fenomeno himself, Ronaldo, said he would have taken him to the World Cup in Qatar. The wonderkind is clearly a generational talent and has already agreed on a move to Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee thought to be in excess of €50 million. If this price tag holds true, it would make him the most expensive Brazilian ever to join Los Merengues.
So there we have it the stand-out members of the so-called “Geração do Bilhão“. It is a slight shame that they will never really get to develop and play together in Palmeras but such is the way in modern football. The pull of big European clubs and their financial muscle is hard to resist. Three of the four have their big money moves now it’s time to see if they can live up to the hype.