Endrick’s future at Real Madrid is back under the spotlight.
The 20 year old Brazilian is now into his third season at the Bernabeu, but regular football remains difficult to find. His latest comments while away with Brazil have only added to speculation over whether another January move could become necessary.
That possibility is not being pushed by Real Madrid right now. Jose Mourinho wants him to stay. The club want him to stay too. Endrick is still admired internally, and there is a belief that his chances will come.
The problem is simple.
At the moment, those chances are not arriving often enough.
For a player who joined Madrid with enormous expectation and who has already experienced one successful loan spell at Lyon, the next few weeks could shape the direction of his season.
Endrick openly admits he wants more football
Endrick spoke candidly at a Brazil press conference on Tuesday.
“I just want to play, to be happy and help my team-mates,” Endrick said. “To score goals, provide assists, like at Lyon, one of the best things to have happened to me and one of the happiest times I’ve had.
“I don’t know what will happen in January. That’s in God’s hands. I only ask to do what’s best for my career. Whatever happens, happens. I’ll keep my feet on the ground and do my best. Madrid is a wonderful city, but I’ll always do everything I can to advance my career.”
Those comments explain the situation better than almost anything else.
Endrick is not agitating for an exit.
He is not criticising Mourinho.
He is not suggesting his relationship with Madrid has broken down.
He simply wants to play.
And after experiencing what regular football felt like in Lyon, sitting on the bench again is inevitably going to feel difficult.
Could Endrick leave Real Madrid in January?
No decision has been made.
However, if the next month passes without a significant increase in playing time, Endrick would be prepared to push for a move in January.
That does not mean Madrid want to lose him.
Quite the opposite.
The club’s hierarchy and Mourinho both believe strongly in his ability. They also believe he will receive opportunities during the season.
There is another factor too.
Madrid are less willing to weaken the depth of their squad than they were when Endrick left for Lyon.
A long season, injuries, suspensions and multiple competitions mean keeping another high level forward available has obvious value.
So another loan remains possible.
It is just not currently Real Madrid’s preferred outcome.
Sporting CP and Arsenal links have been played down
Recent reports have connected Endrick with Sporting CP and Arsenal.
Sources familiar with the situation have described those stories as untrue.
There has been genuine interest elsewhere, however.
Several clubs explored a loan move during the summer transfer window.
Aston Villa and Roma were among the most serious suitors.
Roma continue to be interested in Endrick, while Serie A rivals Milan are also monitoring his situation.
That interest gives him options if January develops in a way that leaves everyone believing another temporary departure is best.
The key issue remains playing time rather than any unhappiness with Madrid itself.
Real Madrid still place a huge value on Endrick
A permanent sale looks considerably more difficult.
Endrick arrived from Palmeiras in July 2024 in a deal worth up to €60million.
The agreement included €35million guaranteed and another €25million in potential additions.
Madrid have already paid €47.5million.
If a club wanted to buy him permanently, one source familiar with Madrid’s position believes the Spanish side would value Endrick above that original €60million figure.
That shows how highly he is still regarded.
Madrid do not view Endrick as a failed signing who needs to be moved on.
They see an extremely talented young striker whose development has simply not followed a straight line.
Why there is so much attention around Endrick
The noise around his situation is not entirely created in Madrid.
Brazil plays a huge role.
Endrick is one of the most closely followed young footballers in a country with more than 200 million people and an intense national relationship with the game.
The level of public enthusiasm around him became especially obvious during the World Cup.
When Carlo Ancelotti did not select Endrick regularly, memes about the decision went viral.
There was a genuine clamour among Brazilian supporters to see him play.
That interest has followed him back to Madrid.
Every appearance matters.
Every omission creates discussion.
Every run of games on the bench becomes a story.
That kind of pressure is not unusual for Real Madrid, but Endrick carries it from two directions at once.
Injury delayed the start of his season
Endrick’s campaign did not begin smoothly.
He suffered a thigh muscle injury during preseason and missed the opening weeks.
His first Real Madrid appearance of the season did not come until September 15.
Even then, it was brief.
Endrick came off the bench for four minutes in a 3 2 La Liga victory away at Elche.
He then remained an unused substitute for Madrid’s next two matches.
That naturally made it difficult to build any rhythm.
Then came Roma.
The Roma comeback reminded everyone what Endrick can do
Mourinho next used Endrick on October 14 in Madrid’s Champions League match away to Roma.
At the time he entered the game, Real Madrid were 3 1 behind.
Endrick scored once.
He also provided an assist.
Madrid completed an extraordinary 4 3 comeback.
For supporters who love away days abroad and chaotic Champions League nights, it was exactly the type of match that makes European football travel so addictive.
It is also the sort of occasion that suits Endrick.
He is direct.
He attacks space.
He plays with confidence when the match becomes stretched.
And when Madrid needed something unpredictable in Rome, he gave it to them.
For fans who enjoy the same sense of not knowing exactly what sort of football weekend awaits them, Secret Match Day’s Original Mystery football trip is built around that same element of surprise.
The problem for Endrick is that his performance in Rome did not lead to a permanent place in the side.
Real Madrid have built serious momentum without him
Madrid have been excellent since the comeback in Rome.
They have won eight consecutive matches.
That run included a 2 1 victory over Barcelona at the Camp Nou on October 25.
Success has made Endrick’s pathway more difficult.
Mourinho has found combinations that are working.
Arda Guler has gained prominence on the right.
Yan Diomande has become increasingly important on the left, particularly while Vinicius Junior has been unavailable through suspension in La Liga.
When a team is winning every week, there is naturally less incentive for a manager to change the structure.
That leaves Endrick waiting.
His numbers show how limited the opportunities have been
Endrick has played 141 minutes across seven Real Madrid appearances this season.
He has scored once.
He has assisted once.
Those numbers are not poor considering the amount of time he has actually been on the pitch.
But they also illustrate the issue.
He has barely been on it.
Endrick did start Madrid’s 4 1 home victory over Sevilla on October 18.
Apart from that, he has accumulated just 36 minutes across four substitute appearances since the Roma match.
For a 20 year old who needs matches to develop, those scraps of playing time can only do so much.
Endrick has been through this cycle before
The situation is familiar.
During his first season at Madrid in 2024 25, Endrick showed flashes of his ability under Carlo Ancelotti but never established himself as a regular starter.
The following campaign became even more difficult.
With Xabi Alonso in charge, his opportunities reduced further.
Eventually, he left for Lyon on loan during the second half of the 2025 26 season.
That move proved important.
Endrick played regularly.
He scored.
He created chances.
More importantly, judging from his own comments, he felt happy.
That experience is now shaping how he views his current position.
He knows what regular football can do for him.
He also knows what sitting on the Madrid bench can cost in terms of momentum.
Mourinho has publicly backed Endrick
Jose Mourinho has done more than simply tell Endrick privately that he believes in him.
He has defended the striker publicly too.
Mourinho was a major reason Endrick remained at Madrid during the summer.
Clubs had approached Madrid about both loan and permanent deals.
Mourinho resisted.
Speaking on August 25, he made his position clear.
“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.”
The message was obvious.
Mourinho wanted Endrick.
That support continued into October.
The 63 year old told TNT Sports Brazil:
“Whoever is interested in him is going to have to fight very hard with me, because I don’t believe that he needs to go out on loan and that he will be a huge success here.”
That is strong backing.
But backing and playing time are not quite the same thing.
Mourinho promised opportunities in two positions
Before the season began, Mourinho told Endrick he would be considered in two roles.
One was his natural position as a centre forward.
The other was from the right wing.
In theory, that gave Endrick multiple routes into the side.
In practice, neither has opened easily.
Kylian Mbappe is the obvious first choice striker.
Unless Mbappe is injured or rested, there are very few minutes available centrally.
Even when Mourinho has looked for alternatives from the bench, Carlos Espi has occasionally been preferred.
The right wing is arguably even more crowded.
Federico Valverde can play there.
Diomande has been used there.
Guler has recently excelled on that side within Mourinho’s redesigned structure.
Brahim Diaz offers another option.
That leaves Endrick competing against established players in both of the positions identified for him.
Madrid’s success makes the January decision harder
This is what makes the situation so awkward.
If Real Madrid were struggling badly, Endrick could reasonably expect Mourinho to start experimenting.
They are not.
Madrid have won eight in a row.
They have beaten Barcelona.
The current structure is working.
Managers rarely dismantle winning combinations simply to create minutes for a young player, regardless of how talented that player might be.
At the same time, Madrid cannot ignore Endrick’s development indefinitely.
He is still only 20.
A season spent collecting five minute substitute appearances might strengthen the squad in the short term, but it does not necessarily improve the player in the long term.
That tension will shape whatever happens in January.
Another Lyon style loan could make sense
Endrick’s spell at Lyon is important because there is now proof that a temporary move can work.
He does not necessarily need to leave Real Madrid permanently.
He may simply need four or five months of starting football.
Roma still have interest.
Milan are interested.
Other clubs are likely to appear if Madrid signal any willingness to negotiate.
For Endrick, the right move would need to guarantee something much more valuable than prestige.
Minutes.
He has already experienced being the celebrated young talent at Real Madrid.
What he needs now is the opportunity to actually play.
Real Madrid still believe his time will come
None of this means the relationship between player and club has deteriorated.
Madrid continue to admire Endrick.
Mourinho clearly admires him.
The club have no desire to sell cheaply and would value him above the already enormous package agreed with Palmeiras.
There is also logic in keeping him.
Madrid compete for every major trophy.
Fixtures pile up quickly.
Injuries happen.
Suspensions happen.
One month can completely alter the hierarchy of a squad.
Endrick may currently feel a long way from the starting eleven, but football changes quickly.
That is presumably the argument Mourinho will continue making.
January could become a defining month for Endrick
For now, no decision has been taken.
That matters.
Endrick is not definitely leaving Real Madrid.
Madrid are not actively trying to send him away.
Mourinho is not looking to get rid of him.
But the situation will be reviewed.
If the minutes remain as limited over the next month as they have been recently, Endrick is prepared to push for another temporary move.
And it would be difficult to blame him.
At 20, development matters more than simply being part of one of the strongest squads in world football.
His spell at Lyon taught him that.
“I just want to play, to be happy and help my team-mates,” he said.
Everything that happens next really comes back to those words.
Madrid believe Endrick can become a success at the Bernabeu.
Mourinho believes it too.
The question is whether the path to that success requires staying in Madrid this January, or leaving once more so that one of Brazil’s brightest young forwards can actually get on the pitch.
