Endrick was presented at the Bernabéu, before 45,000 people. It is worth remembering this fact, because it places the dimension of the signing. To few, very few, the stadium doors have been opened to welcome them. That summer happened with Mbappé… and him. The 18-year-old boy who had moved €60M (35 in fixed and 25 in variables). Brazil’s potential forward. A diamond that burst into tears in the stadium: “As a child I dreamed of playing for Real Madrid… and I’m going to do it”. But there, right there, everything started to go wrong. The balloon, to deflate. Everything, to be mysterious. A year and a half later, he is in Lyon. A parenthesis in his career. An emergency solution… in the strange case of Endrick.
Here is the x-ray of an inexplicable. Since his arrival, Endrick has only played 11% of the minutes. There have been ten competitions (seven in its first year and three in this one). It has been very little: 946 of the 8,490′. And its performance contradicts this situation: averages one goal every 135′. A fact that improves if assists are added. And that only gave one: participates in a target every 118′. But having so few minutes in your backpack, any contribution varies the statistics significantly. It’s what you have Bobby; He has given a lot, in very little.
Analysis of an ostracism
But it is a reality that something has happened, something has -or lacks-, that did not enter even through the eyes of Ancelottinor by those of Xabi Alonso. Piecemeal. First season: Endrick arrives at 18 years old and 16 behind the back. With that overwhelming hunger to take on the world. In fact, one of the main criticisms was an excess of runaway; an uncontrolled energy that made him over-brake in pressures or crashes. But how well channeled, it was goal dynamite. There was TNTbut there was no explosion.
With Ancelotti… 13%
In his first season, Endrick played 13% of the possible minutes (847 of the 6,240′). Of them, 43% were in the Cup (360′) and 16%, in the last three days (with nothing at stake). In other words: only 41% of his minutes were between Champions League games… and League games, with substance. The scalpel goes further: He spent 196 days without playing more than 20 minutes in a single game, not counting appearances in the Cup.. From October 2 (Lille), until April 16 (the return against Arsenal). Almost the entire season. And during that time 37 games went by… and he scored five goals. Five arguments that fell on deaf ears.
The generic data is misleading: Endrick played 37 games. It is misleading, because it is in small print: only in 12 did he play more than 20′ (and four of them were in the Cup). He was not a secondary player, but a tertiary player under Ancelotti. With hardly any opportunities. And yet, in the flashes that he had, left flashes: finished the season with an average of 121′. A spectacular fact; worth killer. He scored seven goals and, in total, participated in one goal every 106′. This is the panorama that Xabi Alonso found.
And with Xabi… 4.5%
And the one that shouldn’t have convinced him either. Because the bar was low, but it has gone lower. This season he has only played 4.5% of the minutes (99 of the 2,250′). Although it is true that he started the season injured (he suffered a relapse of a tear in the joint tendon of the hamstrings in his right leg), He only missed the first five games, for this reason. He has been available in the remaining 20 games. And at the same time, he has been absent.
In 15 of the 20 games in which he has been available, he has stayed on the bench for 90 minutes.. Neither starter nor participating in the second part. Absolute water. In two, he has been suspended (for his red card against Celta), so the account is simple: He has only participated in three games. Two as a substitute and one as a starter (Talavera). He played 11 minutes against Valencia, another 11 minutes against Manchester City and 77 minutes in the Cup. The total is what it is: 99′ throughout the season. 4.5% of the total. An unsustainable.
It is not a want, but a duty
Endrick has made the most of his options at Real Madrid. He had options to leave in the summer – his move to Real Sociedad became more than hot – but he ended up staying. Believing that if he was given minutes, he would show that he deserves more. But he barely had them. There were weeks of thinking a lot about the future, about the matter. Delicate. And in the end, a decision was made: a loan until June. To Lyon, where he will start.
In his contract, in fact, there is an obligation to play at least 25 games – if this is not fulfilled, a penalty should be paid to Real Madrid. There are no salary increases or similar. Just a suitcase and a willingness to play. To have regularity. Because Endrick wants to go to the World Cup this summer. And with the situation in Chamartín, it was a utopia. The footballer who was presented at the Bernabéu, in front of 45,000 people, only played 11% of the total minutes. And this season, 4.5%. The situation was already irrefutable. Going out was not a want, but a duty. The consequence of Endrick’s strange case.
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