João Pedro has said that a “friendship was born” when he assured Cole Palmer that he wasn’t coming to Chelsea to steal his place in the team.
João Pedro was named Chelsea’s Player of the Season in 2025-26 after recording 20 goals and nine assists in 50 appearances, following his move to the Blues from Brighton in 2025.
This season under Xabi Alonso’s leadership, João Pedro and England pair Palmer and Morgan Rogers have formed a fearsome attacking trio.
João Pedro told ESPN that the good atmosphere in the Chelsea dressing room has helped his evolution into a No. 9: “I think so, yes — especially here at Chelsea, where I’m surrounded by world-class players like Cole Palmer, Reece [James] and Moses Caicedo.
“I think my adjustment went well because it had been a while since there was a No. 9 here. Ever since my time at Brighton, I’d been keeping an eye on that spot — even when I played against them, I knew it could be an opportunity for me — and, thank God, when I arrived, Cole was a great friend to me; he reached out to me and talked to me.
“I told him I was coming to help, that I didn’t want to take his spot — nothing like that.
“And that’s where a friendship was born that we carry on both on and off the field. And I think what helps me a lot — and now Morgan [Rogers] too — is that we have a really great friendship on and off the field; we’re always joking around.
“I think that’s why — I think the players were really friendly toward me when I arrived; they welcomed me with open arms, wanted to help me, and were willing to do so — so I think that’s why I adapted so well.”
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Despite his strong start in London last season, João Pedro, 25, was surprisingly left out of Brazil‘s 2026 World Cup squad by Carlo Ancelotti.
In just six Premier League appearances this campaign, he has five goals and three assists.
“At Chelsea I feel very comfortable,” the Brazilian said. “It’s a different season, with a coach who gives me a lot of confidence, and I think that’s a big part of my performance so far this season.”
Chelsea, fourth in the Premier League, appear to be benefitting from Alonso’s preferred tactical 3-4-2-1 formation and so is João Pedro.
“I think it does make it easier,” he said. “I have Cole and Morgan there to help me, to feed me the passes — you can see that the start of the season has been really good. So I think it’s going to be a really good season for us.”
João Pedro has come a long way during his time in England, after starting at Watford, then joining Brighton and eventually moving to Chelsea.
A pivotal moment came, he said, when he played at Watford from 2020 until 2023: “I think that for my success here, the decisive moment was when Watford was relegated to the second division [in May 2022] and I stayed anyway.
“I worked hard and proved that I could overcome that challenge. Because a lot of the time, we Brazilian players come to Europe thinking everything will be a bed of roses, but sometimes that’s not how it goes… and we end up giving up, but I think that was the moment when I said to myself: ‘No, I came here, and I’m going to succeed here.’
“And thank God, today I’m at Chelsea.
“I have a phrase tattooed on me that says: ‘Just as there are bad moments, there will be happy ones too.’ I try not to focus on the past… what’s done is done.”
