Palmeiras U17

Luighi left the Copa do Brasil Sub-17 as its all-time leading scorer, a record set inside a side that has made the competition its own: Palmeiras has won it four times — 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 — more than any other club in the tournament's history.

Brazilian football writers call this crop the Geração do Bilhão, the Billion-Real Generation, after the transfer fees its graduates now command. Endrick was sold on to Real Madrid and Estêvão to Chelsea; Vitor Reis moved to Manchester City, Luis Guilherme to West Ham. The academy has form for this — Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo came through decades earlier.

Under coach Artur Itiro, the side went further, winning the Mundial de Clubes Sub-17 in back-to-back years: Real Madrid were beaten 4-2 in the 2018 final, Leganés 2-1 in 2019, when Palmeiras won all five of its matches and lost none.

Domestically it has been just as hard to unseat, beating Grêmio 2-1 to win the Brasileiro Sub-17 in 2022 and São Paulo 3-0 to retain it in 2023. The run cooled the following year, with Flamengo taking the 2024 Brasileiro Sub-17 final and Fluminense the Copa do Brasil Sub-17 final. Games are played at Nubank Parque, the senior club's 43,713-seat home. A third-place finish in 2025 leaves this generation chasing a way back into finals it once treated as a formality.