When Chelsea host Barcelona, fans can assess two 18-year-olds who are equally tipped as future Ballon d’Or winners
C
omparisons mean little to Estêvão Willian. The Brazil winger did not even take kindly to being nicknamed Messinho – “Little Messi” – earlier in his career. He called the nickname “disruptive” and made clear that he had no interest in trying to be someone else. “I don’t like comparisons,” the 18-year-old told ESPN Brasil last year. “For those who don’t know how to deal with it, it’s quite disruptive. Me being Estêvão is very good.”
Chelsea no doubt agree. After all, opposition defenders aside, who could possibly complain about Estêvão just being Estêvão? Not for nothing is he widely tipped to win the Ballon d’Or one day. The teenager’s talent is outrageous, his start to life in England has been better than expected and, although the obvious risk with heaping too much praise on a young prospect is that it makes them take their eye off the ball, it is telling that those who know Estêvão say one of the qualities that set him apart is his character.
Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s head coach, does not worry about the Brazilian losing focus. For Chelsea, the concern is more about protecting Estêvão from burnout as he adjusts to the physicality of the Premier League. He has made only seven starts in all competitions since his £52m move from Palmeiras last summer and goes into his first meeting with Lamine Yamal knowing there is much to prove before he can be held in the same regard as Barcelona’s 18-year-old winger.
