Thus far, his €60 million move from Palmeiras hasn’t worked out at Real Madrid.
The Brazilian’s father spoke about his unhappiness at the Bernabeu and his chances of making the World Cup.
Endrick’s father, Douglas Sousa, has accused Real Madrid of taking his son’s “theme park” away.
In comments carried by MARCA made to ESPN Brasil Sousa said: “Endrick has a phrase which says that his amusement park is the football field. And at Madrid, in a way, they took that amusement park away from him. What he wants is to play football.”
Endrick has done more of that by embarking on a well-advised loan move to Lyon. Thus far, the assignment has yielded 10 goal contributions (four goals and six assists) across 12 Ligue 1 appearances and. More importantly, the teenager also gained 902 minutes of top level experience previously lacking in Europe.
“Now he has found that happiness. My daughter-in-law was fundamental for Endrick to go to Lyon and he is happy. We are all happy, that’s the most important thing,” Sousa added.
It was apparently former Real Madrid boss, and current Brazil leader, Carlo Ancelotti – who ironically gave him few minutes at the Bernabeu following his 2024, €60 million move from Palmeiras – that advised Endrick to seek an exit to improve his chances of heading to North America with his country.
“Expectations are high,” Sousa revealed. “Endrick believes that if he performs well in the next games, he could go to the World Cup.”
There are four of those remaining for Lyon, who currently lie in third place and have chance to qualify for the Champions League while level on 54 points with Lille.
After the World Cup, whether he goes or not after being selected for March friendlies against France and Croatia, Endrick needs to think about his future.
That could entail another loan spell at Lyon or elsewhere. As things stand, it’s still Kylian Mbappe in his way and unlikely to be dropped by either Alvaro Arbeloa or a probable successor.
It’s not just a two-horse race for the number 9 shirt either, as breakthrough Club World Cup star Gonzalo Garcia is also hungry for recognition.
Tom Sanderson is a senior football correspondent that has lived in Spain for almost seven years, for the duration of which he has been Forbes' lead expert writer on Real Madrid and FC Barcelona providing news, analysis and features. He's currently in his eighth season covering the clubs which also includes attending matches home and away, press events and conferences, and training sessions amid appearing in a BBC Sport documentary on El Clasico. Before that, he lived in São Paulo for six years where he became, and still is, The Guardian's lead reporter on Brazilian football and social issues. Other notable work includes being appointed Daily Mail's first-ever Spanish language content editor in its sports department.
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