Chelsea forward Joao Pedro has said England international Cole Palmer would be suited to Brazil's iconic No.10 shirt, speaking in an interview on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
The comments came in late May as both Chelsea teammates prepared to miss the 2026 World Cup after being omitted from their national squads. Pedro was left out of Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil selection, while Palmer was not included in Thomas Tuchel's England group announced on 22 May.
Pedro, 24, told Ferdinand he had initially underestimated Palmer before playing alongside him at Stamford Bridge. "He's very intelligent, he's magic," he said. "I said to him before, 'I didn't think you were that good.' And he looked at me. I said, 'Yeah, but now because I play with him, yeah, he's different.'" Pedro then joked about a switch of allegiance: "Why don't you come to Brazil? Because in Brazil, we don't have this guy.”
Palmer missed much of the first half of the season with injury and finished with 11 goals and three assists in 34 appearances. Tuchel said the decision was based on form, fitness and tactical balance, also leaving out Phil Foden, Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold.