If there’s one thing that can be said about Real Madrid, it’s that they don’t like to do business in the middle of the season. Since the start of the 2021/22 season, Real have only completed one January
transfer, when they cancelled Antonio Blanco’s loan move at Alavés and loaned him out to Cádiz.
It seems highly improbable that Real will be bringing in any new arrivals in the winter window, but one thing’s likely: Endrick is headed on his way out.
Born in Taguatinga, Brazil, Endrick grew up in poverty and was forced into an orphanage alongside his siblings after his father departed to pursue a playing career, leaving his wife homeless until finally returning after six months. He had no other choice but to thrive as a footballer in order to lift his family out of poverty, and it’s clear that this overwhelming pressure produced a diamond. Endrick scored 165 goals in 169 appearances for Palmeiras’ youth teams before becoming the youngest player to make his senior debut for Palmeiras at 16 years, 2 months, and 16 days old; he would need less than three weeks before opening his scoring account on October 25, 2022, and becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in the history of the Brasileirão.
After scoring 3 goals in 7 matches and helping Palmeiras win their 11th league title, Endrick signed an agreement on December 15, 2022, to join Real Madrid for €35 million and €25m in add-ons after turning 18. Endrick furthered his development for club and country and eventually became the youngest player in 57 years to play for Brazil, in addition to guiding Palmeiras to a second-straight Campeonato Paulista and Brasileirão double with 14 goals across 53 appearances in 2023. He flew north to the United States to take part in each of Brazil’s four matches at the Copa América before heading across the Atlantic and starting his European football journey with the continent’s most iconic team. It would take him just 10 minutes to score his debut goal after coming off the bench vs. Real Valladolid, and just 16 minutes to open his Champions League account vs. Stuttgart. And whilst he wasn’t able to double his account in either competition, he did manage to score five goals in Real’s run to the Copa del Rey Final.
However, just as Real Madrid were preparing to announce Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal after four years at the helm, Endrick suffered a right hamstring-tendon injury that would keep him off the pitch for over four months. With both Endrick and Kylian Mbappé indisposed, Gonzalo García was forced to step up and deliver as the team’s makeshift attacking lead in Alonso’s baptism of fire at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Gonzalo responded by winning the Golden Boot with five goals. In doing so, the Spaniard went from an unknown commodity to an established presence under Alonso and the current owner of the second-choice striker role. Whilst García has played nine times this season, Endrick has played just once – a 13-minute cameo vs. Valencia on November 1.
Once the attacking protagonist for Palmeiras, Endrick currently finds himself ailing from a malady that has troubled quite a few players, be that Polish strikers like Adam Buksa and Krzysztof Piątek, or Norwegian strikers like Jørgen Strand Larsen and Aune Heggebø, or Portuguese strikers like Fábio Silva and Gonçalo Ramos. It’s a unique condition where, no matter how early you come to training, no matter how many goals you score in practice or how many extra hours you put in the gym, you’ll always be second-choice to a freak of nature in attack, and you’ll always be coming off the bench – if at all. There’s quite simply nothing that Endrick can do about the fact that he’s dealing with a once-in-a-generation talent in Kylian Mbappé who, with 18 goals in 16 appearances, continues to take his game to the next level and prove why he is one of the best players in world football.
Even if Endrick were to score a hat-trick off the bench and suddenly leapfrog García in the depth chart, the best that Endrick could aspire to is ‘garbage time’ minutes, which is simply not enough for a player who’s vying for a World Cup spot.
Having played in three of Brazil’s four matches in September and October 2024, Endrick made his 14th appearance on March 26, 2025, coming off the bench at halftime in a 4-1 defeat to Argentina. He hasn’t played for them since, missing the next two windows due to injury before being left off the October squad. The message from Ancelotti is clear: if you’re not going to be playing at the club level, you’re not going to be playing at the international level either. It’s why both Real Madrid and Endrick need to make it in their best interests to negotiate a loan deal as soon as possible. It seems they’re doing just that, with Ligue 1 side Lyon reportedly closing in on a January move.
All things considered, Endrick to Lyon could be set to be a fantastic move for both parties. Lyon are in need of a dynamic center forward following the loss of legendary talisman Alexandre Lacazette this summer. Les Gones have scored just 18 goals this season and sit seventh in the Ligue 1 table, outside the European spots, and they have been held scoreless in two of their last three matches. As for Endrick, he needs a club where he can play regularly both in a top five league and UEFA competition, and where he can find much-needed confidence again and make a late push for a World Cup spot.
“Here in Brazil, we already know that Endrick is going to Lyon in January,” stated ESPN Brasil commentator Leonardo Bertozzi. “I think he’s going to do well in Lyon; they need a goalscorer like him, whose best quality is his shot power, and Endrick needs a place where he can play. However, I think it’s very difficult to get back into the Brazil squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup; there’s not much time left, and there are a lot of other names like Matheus Cunha, Richarlison, Igor Jesus and Vítor Roque ahead in the pecking order.”
Endrick will no doubt be aware of multiple players like Martin Ødegaard, Achraf Hakimi, Takefusa Kubo, and Theo Hernández who, after leaving Real on loan, never quite managed to find their way back into the fold. However, if the recent success stories of players like Lucas Vázquez, Casemiro, Fran García and Dani Ceballos are anything to go by, it’s that leaving on a loan or even a permanent deal doesn’t necessarily mean the end of a player’s journey with Los Blancos. Right now, the most crucial thing for Endrick is to start playing regularly and make a case for himself ahead of what could be a career-defining World Cup, and it could very well prove to be two steps backward and three steps forward as far as his Real Madrid career is concerned.
