For several years now, Palmeiras has become a crack factory sold at high prices. Estêvão (sold for €61.5 million to Chelsea), Endrick (sold for €60 million to Real Madrid), Allan (sold for €40 million to Manchester City), Vitor Reis (sold for €35 million to Manchester City), Gabriel Jesus (sold for €32 million to Manchester City) and even Richard Rios (sold for €30 million to Benfica) are the most notable examples of these nuggets trained and sent to Europe at a very young age. And this trend is not about to stop. The 16-year-old left winger Eduardo Conceição is today considered one of the biggest nuggets of the Verdão, but he is not the only one.
A promising defensive midfielder
At 18, Luis Pacheco also began to make a name for himself. A 1.80m right-handed defensive midfielder, the native of Lajeado discovered the Brazilian Serie A in 2025. Having just been promoted to the first team coached by the Portuguese Abel Ferreira, Pacheco has made 6 appearances (105 minutes) in the first division, including the last against São Paulo on September 12 (23 minutes of play). An Auriverde international, he participated and finished fourth in the 2025 U17 World Cup organized in Qatar, before being included this year in the U20 selection. With Palmeiras, he always alternates between matches with the U20 team and the professional group. A development plan that suits the principal concerned.
“Abel played a very important role in this process. He is a coach who gives young people a chance and who strives to supervise them as best as possible. Being with him and all the staff on a daily basis is a huge learning experience for me. The relationship is very good. Both the staff and the players welcomed me very well and tried to help the younger players a lot. The whole group is very supportive. The most experienced seek to discuss, advise and reassure those who arrive. This makes adaptation much easier and allows us to feel more comfortable in our daily lives. I arrived very young and, since then, I have been following this whole training process within the club. I am very grateful to Palmeiras for everything it gives me and my career”he confided to Itatiaiamedia partner of CNN Brazilbefore discussing his ambitions.
Palmeiras is holding him back… for now
“Every player has dreams and goals for their career, but today my focus is entirely on Palmeiras. I want to continue to progress, earn my place and help the club. What happens in the future will be the result of the work I do today. I am very happy with the affection shown to me by the supporters and I try to use it as a source of motivation. But I try to keep my feet on the ground and concentrate on my work. I know that everything has its time and I want to be ready when opportunities present themselves. Of course, wearing the Seleção jersey is a dream. But I know there is a path to take to get there and I try not to rush. My goal is to continue working and progressing at Palmeiras. If one day this opportunity presents itself, I will be very happy and ready to take advantage of it. » Promising, Pacheco would be an element on which Abel Ferreira would place a lot of hope. And unsurprisingly, several clubs are already on board. Earth claims that Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk are following the player very closely.
The Red and Blue have already made Brazil a hunting ground for talent (Lucas Beraldo, Gabriel Moscardo), with varying degrees of success, and their interest in Pacheco would not be new. For its part, the Ukrainian team is a real specialist in recruiting young Brazilians. It also has no less than 15 in its current squad (Luca Meirelles, Kauã Elias, Bruninho, Lucas Ferreira, Pedrinho, Gabriel Carvalho, Alisson, Ryan Roberto, Eguinaldo, Newerton, Isaque, Marlon Gomes, Vinicius Tobias, Pedro Henrique, Marlon). Last month, Palmeiras youth team coordinator João Paulo Sampaio confirmed that Verdão had been approached, without naming the courtiers. “The transfer window is over, at least for the main transfers, but Palmeiras has received offers which it has refused. The ones you are already talking about: Luis Pacheco, Benedetti… There are a few for whom offers have come in, but Palmeiras believes that now is not the right time. » And if this interest is confirmed during the next transfer windows, everything suggests that the Paulista team will still get a good deal, because Luis Pacheco is under contract until December 2029 and has a release clause set at €100 million.
