Who are the players from the generation that will earn Palmeiras more than a billion

Back in 2022, Palmeiras’ youth coordinator, João Paulo Sampaio, made a risky statement. If the team did not earn at least one billion reais with the under-17 generation they had, they could be fired from the club for incompetence.

The speech is risky, but it was justified over time. With just the sales of Endrick, Estêvão and Luis Guilherme, the club was already close to one billion in revenue two years later.

“If you include Vitor Reis, who will already be worth 30 million onwards, Thalys, Benedetti, who in a while could be in the professional ranks, Luighi, who has already played, what we could be selling and is well in Italy (Fellipe Jack)… is a generation that could exceed R$1 billion.

Sales made by Palmeiras since João Paulo’s statement included defender Fellipe Jack, midfielders Thalys and Luis Guilherme and attackers Estevão and Endrick. Of these, one went to West Ham, one to Chelsea, and another to Real Madrid, totaling more than R$990 million in sales.

• Endrick (Real Madrid, Spain): 72 million euros (60 million euros + taxes);
• Luis Guilherme (West Ham, England): 30 million euros;
• Estêvão: maximum of R$61.5 million, including goals.

After the eventual rise of Vitor Reis, Thalys and Benedetti also began to appear in Abel Ferreira’s team. Thalys is the top scorer in the Brazilian Under-20 Championship, having scored 15 goals, and has been scouted by European and Saudi teams.

Luighi played three games for Palmeiras’ main team and scored one goal. Still playing in under-20 tournaments such as Brasileirão and Copa do Brasil, he is one of the club’s management’s biggest bets for the future.

The last promise on the list is Fellipe Jack, a defender who is currently on loan to Como, an Italian club that appears to be interested in trading the player permanently. His transfer contract was valid until mid-2024, having been signed in February, but has already been renewed for one season. If purchased, it would be worth around 10.6 million reais for 60% of the rights.

Thus, it is likely that Verdão will surpass the stipulated goal of one billion, and is already starting to look to the future: “There will be younger generations like this, which professionals will take advantage of, but there will be normal ones. You can’t have extra series every year”, commented João Paulo.

“We are talking about two players who were the last youngest to debut in the Brazilian team in 1960, 1970. Look at what Endrick and Estevão are doing. It’s not every time you can get one like that”, he added.