The Fluminense fans here in the United States for the club World Cup will tell you that the newest signing of Chelsea from Brighton is a 'Molque de Xerem'.
In English, that means 'Boy from Xerem', the name of the neighborhood where their team in the neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro trains.
Gented by a guy called Luiz Felipe during a match in the municipality of Sao Paulo Valparaiso, Joao Pedro became at the age of 11 at the Brazilian club. While Marcelo Veiga, the technical coordinator of the youth coordinator of Fluminense, says that Mail Sport, 'JP' had what to do after arrival as a skinny child.
“When he went to the categories under the age of 15 and younger than 16, he was still very thin, with little physical strength, even though he is long and has a good technique,” Veiga says. “At this point he found it difficult to play.
'He was sitting on the couch and was sometimes not even called up for competitions, which caused uncertainty for both he and his family, especially his mother, Flavia, who is a warrior who always believed in her son's potential.
'I remember a conversation that I had with JP's mother and his deceased stepfather, in the parking ramp of the training center in Xerem. It was around the time she was very sad because he didn't play.
“I calmed her and said we should be patient. Flavia believed in the club, supported her son and was certainly a fundamental person for everything to train. When the family behaves like this, it bears fruit. '
Flavia has indeed been a source of strength in her son's life and although he grew something to physically do at Fluminense, he had already mentally confronted challenges that you would not wish for any child.
Pedro was only a baby when his father, Jose Joao de Jesus, better known as Chicao in Botafogo, where he professionally played football as a defensive midfielder, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2002 because he was an accessory for murder. Singing eight years, so Joao Pedro was raised by his mother, Flavia.
After his release at the age of 31 after his imprisonment, Chicao participated in a Brazilian television report when he wanted to return to professional playing.
It showed him to embrace his son, Joao Pedro, who told the cameras: 'I've always wanted to be on the field with my father. I'm going to achieve that. My sister always wanted to play with him, and so do. But we couldn't, because he was in prison. '
It is not known whether Joao Pedro and Chicao are in contact today, but he is close to Flavia, who has strengthened the power pilot whose financial difficulties in his youth have only strengthened his wish to become a football player, so that he could give her life that he felt that she deserved.
You may have noticed how we repeat 'Joao Pedro' in its entirety. We usually use the full name of the player in newspaper reports at the first mention and then his last name from that moment. As adapted in Brazil, his' Joao Pedro ', however, are two Christian names, and as a reader emphasizes in an e -mail:' calls him 'Pedro', is just as logical as calling Pope John Paul 'Paul'.
That is why you should see him completely as Joao Pedro when referred, although his new Chelsea teammates will probably call him 'JP', as was at Brighton.
Although Chelsea Joao Pedro signs as a versatile attacker about the front line of Enzo Maresca, he played as a defensive midfielder, just like his old man. While playing in that position he was picked up by Fluminense, it was apparently interested in a time when Santos, Corinthians and Sao Paulo were also interested.
“At the time, although I was the technical coordinator, I took over the team under 17 for a period because the coach went to the Fluminense project in Slovakia,” Veiga continues. 'JP had already played several roles during his development phase in the club. But I saw a great capacity to finish in him, to score goals.
“He had the gift. So I started training his head. He must remember. We did basic drills until we raised their complexity and brought him to the No. 9 position.
“He was a center that also knew how to use space with presence in the box, played the pine and turned his body just as well, dribbled past opponents.
“I gave him the chance and in the debut of the Campeonato Carioca he scored five goals. From that moment on, he continued to score one after the other and developed more and more.
“Then his physical maturation came. He started to bulk, to become strong and fast, and had a big climb. He was the top scorer of the Under 17s, played for the under 20s and went to the professional team, where he scored headers, who proudly fulfilled me.
“He, who had hardly put his head on the ball until then, now got good headers.”
It was in Fluminense where Joao Pedro saw his friend Richarlison earn his move to England and moved to Watford in 2017 for around £ 11.2 million. It was the same club that would win the race for Joao Pedro for a similar fee, in which he defeated Manchester United, Liverpool and more for his signature.
Playing in the Premier League was his dream, although that chance was still away for a while. Watford signed him in October 2018, but he should wait a year until his work permit was granted. In the meantime, Joao Pedro could only keep an impression on Fluminense.
For example, it was in May 2019 when he scored a 30-minute hat trick at his first start in the Copa Sudamericana (the South American equivalent of the Europa League) against Atletico Nacional by Colombia. It was also a perfect header, left foot, right foot-on they won 4-1.
The supporters started singing: 'You are sewn! Joao Pedro is deadly! '
His manager, Fernando Diniz, said afterwards that what he had seen was related to something you would see from Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and no one else.
It was in December 2019 when Joao Pedro finally flew to England with his mother, Flavia and other close relatives, excluding his father. As you can imagine, it was difficult to adapt to this new way of life.
Covid's chaos followed shortly after his entrance in Watford and of course he had traded the heat and humidity of Rio de Janeiro for, well, Hertfordshire.
In his first training session, he wore a snood in his eyes, and in his first performance-a 3-3 draw with tranmere robbers in the third round of the FA Cup-Had he gloves and long sleeves.
His first goal arrived in September 2020, against Luton Town when Watford was exiled to the championship. He helped them bring them back to the Premier League with nine goals that season.
Joao Pedro won his move to Brighton in May 2023. The reimbursement was never announced, but it was a club record, which it was believed to be £ 30 million, possibly rises to £ 35 million. He was impressed to wear the No 9 shirt for Brazil, making Flavia and Seagulls employees extremely proud.
He now has three caps, and a move to Chelsea will not harm his chances of being noticed for Carlo Ancelotti's 2026 World Cup team, even if he has to fight Nicolas Jackson and colleague arrival of Liam Delap for a starting role.
Chances are that you have heard the strange story about the Tetchy temperament of Joao Pedro.
We have seen some cases of it, such as the time that he somehow escaped the punishment for swinging an elbow in Brentford's Yehor Yarmolyuk or the red he received for responding in a struggle with Nathan Collins from the same opponents. Others we have not seen, such as the training ground change with his teammate of Brighton, Jan Paul van Hecke, who saw him internally disciplined when he missed the walk-in last season under Fabian Hurzeler.
You may think that a few people in Brighton would think they will get a remarkably good deal, especially because they are insisting that they receive £ 55 million to £ 60 million with add-ons and a healthy sales clause.
You would be wrong.
Sources within Brighton's attitude to see him leave, even for that part of change and only had positive comments to make when asked for an assessment of his personality by Postsport.
They describe him as a good guy, a wrongly understood soul, a supreme talent. Of course, Joao Pedro can be susceptible to rinsing frustration, as above, but he has worked on channeling.
Chelsea could do with him with the help of his passion in a good way, especially since they already have a few players such as Jackson and Delap who love an unnecessary yellow card.
Insiders from Brighton add the ability of Joao Pedro, cannot be questioned. At best he can do things that others cannot, both in games and in training, and Seagulls fans will never forget the winner he scored versus Marseille to ensure that they have awarded their Europa League group in December 2023.
They wish him the best for the future now that he becomes the newest Brazilian boy in Chelsea at the age of 23. As Richarlison did with him, Joao Pedro will be in a position to help guide Estevao Willian, the 18-year-old Wonderkid who has been agreed to arrive this summer after his club World Cup campaign with Palmeiras-Chelsea Quart final IS-Heets laid a quarter-final revolt.
Joao Pedro flew from Brazil from Brazil to the United States on Sunday evening to complete his medical, to meet his new teammates in Miami and to be added to their team for the knockout phase of this competition.
If Chelsea can pass Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Friday, they would be confronted in half Jersey in half Jersey, as long as she already surprised the Hilal team that was surprising Manchester City this week.
Seen where it all started, Joao Pedro could hardly have wished a more poetic debut.