Andreas Pereira’s debut at Palmeiras: shirt 8 and World Cup dream

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Nosso Palestra

·2 September 2025

Andreas Pereira’s debut at Palmeiras: shirt 8 and World Cup dream

The midfielder Andreas Pereira has already started his journey at Palmeiras. The player arrived in São Paulo on Monday night (1st) and reported to the Academia de Futebol on Tuesday (2nd), where he got to know the facilities, underwent evaluations with the Health and Performance Center, and sent a message to the fans.

Palmeiras family, thank you for all the affection you have shown me and my family. I feel at home here, I was welcomed with open arms at the club. Now it's time to work and give back on the field with everything I can so that Palmeiras achieves even more success.

The 29-year-old player was at Fulham-ENG and signed a contract with Verdão until 2028. Trained in the youth academies of PSV Eindhoven-NED and Manchester United-ENG, Andreas also played for Granada-ESP, Valencia-ESP, Lazio-ITA and had a stint at Flamengo before joining the green and white football.

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Structure and Motivation

On his first visit to the club's facilities, Andreas could not hide his surprise at what he found.

-The structure here is like that of an elite European club, it can be compared to the world's elite. I am very happy to be here, to be part of it. Here, there is everything a player needs to develop and deliver results. That is the most important thing – he said.

The midfielder also assured that he is physically ready to play.

-I know the schedule has many games one after the other. I am prepared. I just completed the pre-season at my former club and feel ready to play, help the team, and help Palmeiras win once again.

Jersey Number 8 and Contact with Abel

The new signing chose to wear the number 8 jersey and explained why.

It was my choice, I like the number 8. I have worn the number 18 at some clubs. For me, it's a special number, I know several important players here have worn it, and I hope to give back and achieve success with this jersey.

Andreas also commented on his first contact with coach Abel Ferreira.

I spoke briefly with Abel, he sent me a message when the deal was finalized. I hope to help, I am a player who can contribute in midfield with goals or assists, defending. I am a dynamic player and hope to do that here at Palmeiras.

Brazilian National Team on the Horizon

With ten games and two goals for the main National Team, Andreas keeps alive the dream of playing in the 2026 World Cup.

This is definitely important for me, to stay in the National Team cycle. It's about doing my job well at Palmeiras so I can be called up. I have a dream of going to the World Cup in 2026.