In July 2024, Endrick joined Real Madrid when he turned 18 and now fans are following his development in Brazil with Palmeiras. And it turns out that Real has a reason to soon recruit this striker for nearly 60 million euros from the end of 2022, there are even rumors that Real is willing to give up the dream of owning Erling Haaland because of Endrick.
Real Madrid bought Endrick at the end of 2022, just over 2 months after he first played in the Brazilian National Championship.
Botafogo faces Palmeiras at home in the decisive match for the 2023 Brazilian championship. Botafogo is leading the table with 59 points after 29 matches while Palmeiras is behind with 53 points after 30 matches. The season has 38 rounds and Palmeiras, as the defending champion, is facing the possibility of losing the throne. If they lose this match, they will almost lose hope.
Botafogo jumped to a 3-0 lead after just 36 minutes and it seemed like everything was over, but Endrick did not surrender. The 17-year-old striker, after losing the third goal, ran to hug the ball to his body to run to the middle of the field to serve the ball as quickly as possible, before starting a great comeback.
In the 49th minute, Endrick shortened the score to 1-3 after he soloed in the middle into the penalty area, passing at least 3 players before shooting low to beat the goalkeeper. Palmeiras’s attack efforts after that seemed like they would not yield any more goals even though Botafogo was sent off in the 76th minute. Botafogo even received a penalty in the 83rd minute but missed.
Right after the missed penalty, Endrick had a very classy handling: in a situation where the ball bounced high in the 16m50 area, he thought he was going to volley it, but instead he blocked a step with his thigh and tricked it over a bridge. Defend your team before sinking a shot into the near corner to shorten the score 2-3. In the 89th minute, Jose Lopez leveled 3-3 for Palmeiras. The ball came from Endrick’s cross on the right wing to Gustavo Gomez, who headed a cross for Lopez to equalize.
Endrick scored 2 goals and contributed to the third goal as Palmeiras came from behind to win Botafogo 4-3
The match is not over yet: 90+9 minutes Murilo completed the 4-3 comeback for Palmeiras with a close-range cushion from a free kick on the left wing. This match is being hailed by the Brazilian press as the second best match in the history of the Brazilian National Championship in the 21st century, only after the Santos 4-5 Flamengo match in 2011 when Ronaldinho defeated his junior Neymar.
With Endrick’s performance, one can understand why Real Madrid wanted him so soon. The striker took charge of the game decisively, and his second goal with a fake kick was one of the most impromptu Brazilian moves we can see in a professional match today.
Real Madrid will only stick with Joselu in the short term, and Endrick’s progress will be the basis for them to decide in the future whether to hunt for Erling Haaland or not. A left tackle compared to Ronaldo and Romario, Endrick promises to be a new phenomenon in world football in the coming years.
