Endrick is heading into his third season at Real Madrid, still surrounded by the uncertainty that has followed him since arriving in a deal worth up to €60million (£51.5m; $69.8m) in July 2024.
One major factor is different, however. Madrid have another new coach.
Endrick is yet to make a competitive appearance under Jose Mourinho as he has been working his way back to full fitness following a thigh muscle injury suffered shortly before La Liga’s restart in August, although he did feature in several pre-season friendlies.
Having failed to establish himself under Carlo Ancelotti and, in particular Xabi Alonso (Endrick went out on loan to Lyon for the second half of last season), Portuguese coach Mourinho has shown faith in the Brazilian, both internally and publicly.
As reported by The Athletic on August 10, Mourinho was largely responsible for ensuring the 20-year-old striker did not leave during the summer transfer window, with Aston Villa and Roma among the most interested suitors.
Mourinho confirmed it at a press conference on August 25, saying: “He’s a player I really like, who has received so many inquiries from clubs about a loan or a sale. I haven’t wanted to sell him because I like him and enjoy working with this young player who has significant talent.”
Mourinho does like Endrick’s profile, and he has told him that he will get playing time this term, both as a centre-forward and on the right wing.
However, the youngster does not seem to have an easy path towards becoming a regular starter in either position.
That is why Endrick’s situation will be reviewed before the transfer window reopens in January, with the possibility of another loan still on the table.
Endrick pictured in Real Madrid training on Monday (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)
The stakes here are high.
Endrick represents one of Madrid’s strongest bets on young talent. Barcelona, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain had also followed the forward before Madrid reached an agreement with Palmeiras to sign him for an initial €35million plus €25m in add-ons in 2022. The value of the deal has already reached close to €50m.
Endrick arrived at Madrid in the summer of 2024 after turning 18 on July 21 that year. Since his arrival, his progress has stalled somewhat.
In his debut campaign, he played 847 minutes across 37 matches, scoring seven goals and providing one assist. His average time per goal involvement was 105.8 minutes.
Ancelotti made no secret of his reservations about him due to his youth — just as he did with Arda Guler, who arrived in July 2023. The Italian argued that, at Madrid, young players have to “taste the bench” first.
The club’s hierarchy reassured Endrick back then, pointing out that he had made more appearances than Vinicius Junior (31) or Rodrygo (26) in their debut campaigns (they actually got far more minutes, with 1,742 and 1,428, respectively).
His second year proved to be more challenging.
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A hamstring injury suffered towards the end of the 2024-25 campaign meant he missed that summer’s Club World Cup, where new manager Alonso chose Gonzalo Garcia to replace the injured Kylian Mbappe. The academy graduate responded with four goals and one assist in six matches. It had been expected that Garcia would leave.
Instead, he signed a contract renewal and played a compelling role from the bench over 2025-26, before completing a €40million move to Fulham in early August, joining up with ex-Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa.
Endrick did travel to the United States for the final stages of that 2025 tournament, to be closer to his team-mates, Alonso and his coaching staff. But another hamstring injury complicated matters, and he was not able to return to action until mid-September.
That summer, Alonso advised him to leave in pursuit of regular football, but Endrick, against the advice of some voices close to him, decided to stay and fight for his place. After returning from injury, he spent eight consecutive games as an unused substitute. In early November, he decided to go out on loan to Lyon when the transfer window reopened.
There, he scored eight goals and provided eight assists in 21 games, helping secure his place in Brazil’s squad for the 2026 World Cup — led by Ancelotti.
There was a great deal of clamour for Endrick to be more involved with Brazil than he was at the tournament, where they were knocked out by Norway in the last 16. He did not have much of an impact in the 111 minutes he played across four games.
Brazil missed a good chance to score in the last-16 match against Norway (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)
Before the World Cup, back in April, Real Madrid told Endrick that they were counting on him for the coming season, as Garcia would leave.
That message changed slightly following Mourinho’s appointment. He wanted to see Garcia in pre-season, and liked his profile, but with no guarantee of regular playing time, the 22-year-old ended up joining Fulham.
Madrid also signed Carlos Espi, 21, from Levante in a surprise move worth around €25million. Mourinho was keen to have a striker in the mould of Joselu (who played a key role in the 2023-24 La Liga and Champions League double), and Garcia’s sale made the addition possible.
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The prevailing view in the Spanish media was that Endrick would need to leave. The Athletic reported at the time that the Brazilian wanted to stay and that, according to people close to Mourinho, the coach was delighted with his efforts in training.
As several clubs in Spain and across Europe began to express an interest, a joint decision was taken by the club, Mourinho and the player himself to commit to him staying.
Mourinho played a key role in this decision, speaking to Endrick and explaining his plans for him. As well as being a replacement for Mbappe as a centre-forward, he plans to put Endrick out on the right wing as well. A key factor in this was that Mourinho does not see Federico Valverde or Bernardo Silva as options in that position.
Endrick did play a regular role for Mourinho in pre-season (Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
That’s the positive side of things, and it’s what Endrick is relying on to fight once again for his dream of playing for Real Madrid.
“He’s confident because Mourinho told him he’d be an important player and would get playing time,” says a source involved in the day-to-day at Madrid’s training ground, speaking anonymously as they did not have permission to comment.
Despite this, some people around Endrick have doubts about how regularly he will be playing, which is why a review will be done before the January transfer window.
Mbappe is not likely to miss many matches, and Endrick will also face competition from Espi as his replacement. Espi was top scorer in pre-season and got the winner in the dying moments of Madrid’s La Liga opener against Espanyol.
On the right wing, there are also some challenges, particularly given that it is not Endrick’s most natural position.
It is the spot Mourinho has found to fit Guler into a team where places are highly contested, due to the starting status held by Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham. Then there is Yan Diomande, who was signed in a deal that could rise to a club record €140million (€125m plus €15m in add-ons) this summer.
Brahim Diaz is yet another good option on the right flank, a player who has managed to force himself into every conversation under each manager since his return to the club in 2023. He started against Malaga on August 30. Rodrygo is also expected to have recovered from his knee injury by January.
Endrick was in the Madrid squad for the first time this season on Tuesday night, for the 2-1 win over Inter in the Champions League, but he did not come on. Brahim was Mourinho’s choice on the right flank. Endrick was also included in Ancelotti’s latest Brazil squad, announced on Wednesday, for two friendlies against Australia (on September 25 and 29) and one against India (on October 3).
Madrid’s next game is on Saturday at home to Rayo Vallecano. It may still be a little early to expect Endrick to feature prominently. Training-ground sources say his return has been managed carefully.
But the situation around the promising young striker should soon start to properly take shape. It will be interesting to follow.
