60 million… or 70
Endrick, like Vinicius and Rodrygo, has been hired by the whites before he turned 18. ANDIn this case we are talking about a cost of 60 million euros, 35 fixed and 25 more in variables, although in Brazil they raise the figure to 70. An amount that exceeds the 45 million that they paid in their day for Vinicius, the same amount that they paid for Rodrygo. Soccer players who have been revalued in Madrid, especially in the last season, which has led them to be important pieces of the Brazilian team in the World Cup in Qatar.
Endrick is a different player from his compatriots. He has more things from Romario than from Vinicius. Player of enormous power and explosive start, his area of action is closer to the area to unbalance and finish. His father, who was unemployed, decided to post images of his son on YouTube and surveyed the big clubs in Brazil, eventually getting Palmeiras to sign him a contract. The boy found an outlet in football “to help my family who had no resources to feed us”. And with a stroke of power and goals (165 in 169 games in five years) he has become the most coveted player in the biggest showcase of the Brazilian youth academy, Copinha. In the 2022 edition, he was proclaimed Player of the Tournament after scoring seven goals in seven games and winning the title for Palmeiras.
After the signing of Endrick, the figure of June Calafat. This Spaniard raised in Sao Paulo, At the age of 49, he has become Chief Scout and director of International Football at Madrid. Landed in Valdebebas in 2014, he is the ‘culprit’ of the signings of Vinicius and Rodrygo, but also of the Uruguayan Federico Valverde and the Brazilian Militao. In Europe he has also recruited players like Camavinga and Odegaard for Madrid.
Endrick, at 16 years old, is another bet that follows the same line drawn by the club of signing Rio de Janeiro soccer promises that other big clubs in Europe have set their sights on. In the case of Endrick, Fútbol Club Barcelona has been especially insistent when it comes to trying to snatch the transfer from him. Three times the Catalans knocked on the Brazilian’s door. In the last one, a meeting was even held between Xavi Hernández, the player and his father.
However, the good work of Real Madrid with Vinicius and Rodrygo has caused the emerging stars of Brazil to prefer the white team. At the Bernabéu they forget the saudade and smile with the ball at their feet encouraged by coaches who give free rein to talent like Ancelotti or Zidane. Everyone knows that they are closer to the Ballon d’Or there, as shown by winning this award wearing the white shirt. Thus, since 2000 players like Benzema, Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo or Ronaldo Nazario, Cannavaro, Owen or Figo have achieved it.
Time will tell if those 60 million (or 70) are too expensive a price or not. The bet on Rodrygo and Vinicius went well and now it will be time to wait until 2024 for this footballer that Real Madrid already looks askance at. A player who is signed by the whites in the middle of the World Cup, a tournament after which Florentino has always taken the opportunity to cast the nets.
‘World Cup’ signings
After the 2010 World Cup in South Africa three players arrived: the Germans Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira and the Argentine Ángel di María. In 2014 the chosen ones were James Rodríguez, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas. And after 2018 he added the Belgians Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard, who came from being third with Belgium. Endrick arrives before making his debut with Brazil, but everything indicates that he will be a player with weight in the yellow-green in the next decade.
