Endrick, the new Real Madrid player

Real Madrid has been characterized for a large part of its history for having some of the best players in the world of each generation, which has helped them win the enormous number of trophies they have in their cabinets. However, unlike other times in their history, where Los Blancos chose to sign the already consolidated stars, Florentino Pérez, based on his previous period at the helm of Real Madrid, has changed the club’s transfer policy, bringing the players before they become world figures so they can earn that status at the institution.

Under this policy, the Brazilian wonder kick from Palmeiras, Endrick, has been signed by Real Madrid and this is everything you need to know about this news.

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Endrick’s story

He was born in the vicinity of Brasilia, in a low-income family where he learned to play football from an early age and thanks to his father, an amateur footballer, his videos began to be uploaded to the Internet and from there several Brazilian clubs began to meet this precocious talent.

At the age of 11, Sao Paulo and Santos tried to add Endrick to their youth teams but his offers were not good enough for his family to accompany him. However, Palmeiras offered his family lodging and his father a job, which is something for which the player is very grateful to Verdao.

Playing style

Endrick usually plays as a striker, but even though he is left-footed, his skills allow him to move to any other attacking position. At just 16 years old, he has shown enormous physical strength, flashy pace, great ball skill, and a strong mid-range shot. The Brazilian has many resources that make him a constant danger, reminding other great references from that country, such as Romario.

Signing for Real Madrid

A talent like Endrick’s, with all the current media repercussions and the facilities offered by the internet, caught the attention of the main clubs in Europe, such as Chelsea, PSG, FC Barcelona, and Manchester City. However, it was Real Madrid who managed to complete the signing. It is said that the Parisian club came to make an offer for him and Estevao, another young promise of Palmeiras, but the Brazilian club rejected the proposal as well as talk of direct contacts between Xavi Hernández and the player’s father.

Endrick had a termination clause with Palmeiras of 60 million euros and Los Blancos ended up closing the contract for a price of 35 million plus 25 million in variables depending on the player’s performance. Additionally, Real Madrid is responsible for paying the taxes involved in the transfer, which amount to up to 12 million euros, so Florentino Perez’s club would have to pay 47 million to date.

As Endrick is 16 years old, FIFA does not allow him to join Real Madrid until he reaches the age of 18 years old, which is why the young Brazilian promise will arrive in the Spanish capital in 2024. By the same FIFA regulations , he can only be offered a 3-year contract, so Endrick only signed until 2025, although Madrid and the player have already agreed on an extension until 2030.

Juni Calafat

Real Madrid has maintained the policy of signing big players before they become big stars to avoid paying high transfer fees and big salaries and has focused mostly on the Brazilian market and this has a reason besides a first and last name ; June Calafat. The Spanish-Brazilian (born in Spain but raised in Brazil) began his time at Real Madrid as a scout in the 2013-14 season until the beginning of 2017-18, where he was promoted to chief scout of Los Blancos for the signings of South American players, due to the potential that can be found in that area of the world.

His knowledge of Brazilian football has made him a benchmark in that market from which Florentino Perez has been able to take advantage of. Fede Valverde, Vinicius or Rodrygo are some of the main signings that Calafat has made from that region and who have had a great impact on Real Madrid. The Spanish-Brazilian was the difference for Madrid to get ahead of the rest of the European teams in the signing of Endrick.

Madrid’s Brazilian background

Although the history of Brazilians at Real Madrid is very extensive, from Fernando Giudicelli in 1935 to Endrick in 2022, with huge successes such as Roberto Carlos, Marcelo or Casemiro, even not so good cases such as Lucas Silva, Emerson or Kaká himself. However, here we would like to highlight the young Brazilians that recently joined Real Madrid directly from Brazil through Calafat and their time at the club to establish a kind of parallel between them and Endrick.

• Reinier: He was the last Brazilian signed by Real Madrid before Endrick, for whom the club paid 30 million euros in 2020 to Flamengo when he was only 18 years old. Because Real Madrid’s non-EU places are covered, Reinier has had to go on loan first to Borussia Dortmund and currently to Girona, although with little playing time.
• Rodrygo: signed from Santos in 2018 for 40 million euros when he was still 17 years old and, like Endrick, he had to wait a year to join Real Madrid to comply with FIFA regulations. He has become a very important player for Ancelotti since he is the first alternative in attack to the usual trident of the starting eleven (Vinicius, Benzema, Valverde).
• Vinicius: Real Madrid paid 45 million euros to Flamengo in mid-2017 when Vinicius was 17 years old, joining the club in 2018 when he came of age. Currently, he is indisputable as Real Madrid’s left winger, he is the most dominating player on the team and he is one of the players with the highest market value in the world. It is the triumph of the transfer model endorsed by Florentino Perez.

With this background, we will have to wait and see what the scenario at the non-EU level of Real Madrid is like in 2024, since that can determine if Endrick joins Real Madrid Castilla, the first team or if he has to go out on loan, as in the case of Reinier. In any case, with the player’s physical and technical conditions, it is expected that he will be one of the best players in the world in the next decade.