They were dubbed “The Billion Generation.” A group of attacking talent, and three youngsters in particular, who came up through the ranks at Palmeiras in Brazil and were destined for great things. But where?

The terminology is important. This group of players — Endrick, Luis Guilherme and Estêvão — was not named after the senior titles they were going to win for the São Paulo-based club. It was assumed that they would not linger long enough to bring in much silverware. However, they would bring in a substantial amount of money for the club’s coffers.

The “one billion” refers to the amount — in Brazilian currency — that Palmeiras expected to receive from big European clubs. It is the logic of the contemporary market, with South America’s brightest prospects soon being transferred off to the other side of the Atlantic. And part of that logic had been established by the transfer of Vinícius Júnior.

It seemed like madness almost a decade ago when Real Madrid announced they would be spending around £40 million on a 16-year-old winger from Rio giants Flamengo. They would have to wait until he was 18 to take Vinícius, and at the time the deal was struck, he had not even played a senior game. But what looked like insanity in 2016 was soon coming across as a masterstroke.

Vinícius was the decisive figure as Real Madrid added to their UEFA Champions League triumphs, and in hindsight, it came across as if the Spanish club had picked up one of the most exciting players in the world for a bargain price.

The major European clubs already wanted to get their hands on South American acquisitions as early as possible, because adaptation would be easier if they could mold them from the start. The success of Real’s Vinícius deal persuaded them that they were correct. It was Vinícius, then, who helped to build the gate through which the Palmeiras “One Billion Generation” would have to pass.

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Endrick: Huge promise but with bad timing

Indeed, Endrick took the same route, joining Real Madrid at the age of 18. And the Palmeiras striker had an advantage over his predecessor from Flamengo. Vinícius was still relatively untried when he hit 18 and made the move. He was very much a “promise” rather than a “reality,” and had to serve a brief apprenticeship for Real Madrid Castilla before he was promoted.

Endrick, on the other hand, was already the real deal. He had won a senior title for Palmeiras; he was the key man as, in the back end of the 2023 season, they overhauled Botafogo to win the Brazilian Serie A. Even more, he was a Brazil international with a track record. He scored the only goal when they beat England at Wembley in March 2024, and a few days later added another as they drew with Spain at his future home, the Santiago Bernabéu.

So why is he not in the Bernabéu at the moment? Why is Endrick on loan at Lyon in France? The simple answer is that there is only space for a certain number of players to shine at Real Madrid. And Endrick’s timing was unfortunate.

Then-coach Carlo Ancelotti had responded to the loss of Karim Benzema by fashioning a side without a fixed center forward. Vini had his best season cutting in and attacking space in the penalty area. Ancelotti may not even have wanted the club to acquire Kylian Mbappé, which has clearly brought problems of tactical and psychological balance.

The club, though, can make signings based as much on media exposure as on sporting grounds. And poor Endrick was simply surplus to requirements. He had joined a club that did not really need him. There was nothing wrong with his statistics when he did get a chance to play, but those opportunities were not frequent.

This has set off another problem. Vinícius was less experienced when he made the move, but at least it was clear what kind of player he would be: A right-footed winger who would cut in from the left at extreme pace. Life can be harder now for central strikers. Many who would be natural fits for a role in a 4-4-2 can struggle to slot into a system where there is only one place for an out-and-out striker.

Endrick has this problem of definition. Is he a No. 9? His size might be a problem, and he also loves to drop deep and carry the ball. But he is not really a winger. Now in charge of Brazil, Ancelotti encouraged Endrick to fix himself up with a loan move, both to play and to develop his game. Hence, the switch to Lyon, from where the striker will attempt to crash his way back into the Brazil squad in time for the World Cup.

Estêvão: Settling in well even under different circumstances

Estêvão was watching and learning. Nine months younger than Endrick, their paths only crossed briefly in Palmeiras’ first team. Estêvão was in contention for a first-team place for the last two months of Endrick’s time with the club, but no doubt has taken the lead.

Given his first Brazil start was in Ancelotti’s debut game as coach, Estêvão is shaping up to be a vital member of the starting lineup in Brazil’s quest for the long-awaited sixth World Cup title. How has Estêvão managed to overtake Endrick? One explanation is simple: pure talent.

Estêvão is probably the most exciting player to come out of Brazil since Neymar. Palmeiras are coached by Abel Ferreira, who had a long career as a right back in his native Portugal before taking up coaching. At one point, he publicly pleaded with Palmeiras not to transfer Estêvão so early, and he was trying to hold himself back when he described the player as “different from anything I have ever seen.”

Estêvão, then, is a truly generational talent. But there is another factor. Moving to Europe has not stalled his career. It has enhanced it. He had the pick of the European giants. But — and this is very unusual for a Brazilian attacker — he steered clear of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

There were, it seems, two reasons for choosing Chelsea. One of them was explained by his agent last year, the London club were willing to think of him not just as a winger, but also as someone able to move inside and play in the No. 10 role. That, especially with Cole Palmer around, is a long-term project. In the short term, though, there was an even more compelling argument. He was all but guaranteed to get game time.

There is a downside to going to Chelsea. Turmoil seems part of the mix at Stamford Bridge. In the history of English soccer, five times a coach has been sacked after winning two trophies in the previous season. Every time it happened at Chelsea, and with Enzo Maresca being replaced by Liam Rosenior, Estêvão is already on the second coach of his recently started European adventure.

An element of conflict is intrinsic in the current model of the club, which seems as much about developing young players as it does about winning trophies.

The important thing for Estêvão, though, is that he is playing and shining in top-class European soccer. Indeed, there is some disquiet in the fan base that he is not playing enough. This, though, should not be the slightest problem for the player. Too many games now might take the edge off in the build-up to the World Cup and he will want to preserve that early-season freshness when, already as a Chelsea player, he scored five goals for Brazil between September and November.

This is a frightening statistic. It took Vinícius some five years and 30 games to hit the mark of five goals for his country.

Luis Guilherme: Weight of expectation, looking to bounce back

And talking of Vinícius, West Ham United may have been hoping that they had their own version of the Real Madrid winger when they got Luis Guilherme on board in the summer of 2024. The third member of the Palmeiras’ “Billion Generation”, Luis Guilherme, certainly did his bit for the club’s coffers. The Hammers paid a reported fee of around £25m for his services, something they now probably regret.

Quick and powerful, left-footed but usually operating on the right, Luis Guilherme looked very interesting in the green of Palmeiras. West Ham, though, got nothing out of him.

He played a total of 17 Premier League games, fulfilling the role of non-impact substitute, and the Hammers were probably relieved to recoup some of their outlay when they recently moved him on to Sporting CP.

Does this make him a bad player? Not at all. It is worth remembering his age. Luis Guilherme may be the oldest of the trio, but he does not turn 20 until next month.

He was signed, then, as a kid, entirely based on promise. He had a total of one senior goal to his credit — a cracker, winning a crunch Copa Libertadores tie away to Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle — but it seemed a flimsy basis on which to spend so much money.

The transfer fee was unfair to the player. Luis Guilherme lacks the extraordinary subtlety of Estêvão and swiftly came up against a problem. His virtues are power and blistering pace. But he now found himself in a more compact style of play, offering less acceleration room, against defenders who were quicker and stronger than those he had played against.

He would inevitably need time to process all of this, which is tough to do when carrying the burden of a massive transfer fee. A fresh start is best for all concerned, and he has time to come again.

His story, and to a lesser extent the other two, emphasize the dangers of thinking along the lines of the “Billion Generation.” It turns young men into commodities. And quite apart from problems of fitting into a different type of play, there are also questions of adaptation, as the youngsters attempt to deal with life in a new country, with a different language, culture and climate.

It is all but inevitable that not all will make the grade. But nothing is going to stop the European clubs as they go in search of South American gold.