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TM exclusive
Endrick interview: The World Cup, social media dangers & Cristiano Ronaldo ambitions
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Endrick is expected to make the cut and be one of the 26 players selected by Carlo Ancelotti to represent the Brazilian national team at the 2026 World Cup. Following a difficult spell at Real Madrid and an injury that kept him off the pitch for four months, the young Brazilian has made a comeback on the international stage and is back on Brazil’s radar for the World Cup. During his loan spell at Lyon, he has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in just 19 games.
Stats
Endrick
Centre-Forward
Olympique Lyon
14
5
6
In an exclusive interview with Transfermarkt's Brazilian journalist Thiago Rabelo, Endrick recalled the injury to his right thigh that sidelined him in the second half of 2025 and saw him fall to the back of the queue at Real Madrid, with no opportunities under the then-manager Xabi Alonso, who was appointed in May and sacked in January this year.
“It’s very difficult when you get injured. I had a complicated injury and lost a lot of time. I missed out on a lot of match time, training and work. I couldn’t compete. But thank God I was able to make a good comeback. Here at Lyon I started playing again, I started competing again. That was very good for me and got me back into the national team. I managed to come back at the last minute and I have to keep working. When you get injured, you lose everything. You lose the chance to fight for a place. There was nothing I could do. These are things beyond my control. I just have to be grateful for having made a good comeback and recovered,” the Brazilian told Rabelo.
Market Value
Endrick
Centre-Forward
€35.00m
Valued at €35 million on Transfermarkt, Endrick has regained his prestige at Lyon. Just as he did at Palmeiras, when he was the team’s best player in their 2023 Brasileirão title win, he has made the difference in big games in French football. One such match was against PSG. In the clash against France’s most powerful side, who are in the Champions League final aiming for a second consecutive title, the Brazilian scored a goal and provided an assist in the 2-1 victory, which put Lyon back in the running for a place in Europe’s top club competition.
For the Brazilian national team, he did the same. A day before the match against Croatia, Ancelotti said that Endrick was a player for the future, effectively ruling him out for 2026. However, against the Croatians, in just 15 minutes, he won a penalty, converted by Brentford's Igor Thiago, and provided an assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal. This should surely secure his place in the World Cup squad once and for all. Asked how to step up in decisive matches, he offered his recipe for success.
“I think that in these most important matches, you have to give something extra. If it’s not down to quality or skill, you have to find a way. You have to rely on strength, on willpower. If I’m not at my best, I at least have to give everything for my team. I have to play and do everything I can for my team. That helps me in these big games. I’ll give my all for my team. I try to do that all the time, but I know there are games that don’t go the way we expect. That’s why I try to do the impossible in these games. If it’s not down to skill, it has to be down to strength, to determination. That’s what I do in these big games.
“A player has to have confidence, but there has to be a balance. A player can’t be overconfident or they’ll lose their way, but they also can’t go in without any confidence. If you’re too confident, your ego gets the better of you and you think it’ll be easy. That can’t happen. I can’t accept that. I can’t let that take over my mind. I need to stay humble, but I also need to have confidence. That’s the only way you’ll manage to do things properly.”
Stats
Endrick
Centre-Forward
Real Madrid
40
7
1
At Real Madrid, he scored seven goals and provided one assist in 40 matches, with the caveat that he played only 946 minutes, which equates to one goal every 135 minutes. By comparison, Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid averages a goal every 96 minutes and Vinicius Junior a goal every 212 minutes. Despite the positive figures, Endrick played just 99 minutes in the second half of the season for the Spanish club before being loaned out to Lyon this year.
Stats
Vinicius Junior
Left Winger
Real Madrid
372
127
97
Stats
K. Mbappé
Centre-Forward
Real Madrid
100
85
11
“It was only in November that I started to feel good. By November I already felt ready to play well, to get more chances. But it didn’t happen. I couldn’t play, so I had to work harder to keep myself in shape. I already knew I was leaving the club at the start of the year. That was the time I worked hardest to be in good shape for Lyon, to arrive ready to play. I was in good form in November, but I wasn’t playing. I worked hard so that when I arrived at my new club in January, I could show what I’m capable of.
Endrick turns 20 years old on July 21, two days after the World Cup final, a tournament he is set to play in for the first time. A star of Brazilian football since the age of 14, he has matured over time. Although young, he has stepped away from social media in pursuit of better mental health, an issue that has affected many players around the world.
“I think so. When you take all that out of your life, things get easier. In my case, when I stepped away (from social media), I focused more on just playing football and doing my best for my team. I no longer pay attention to what others say. Once you ignore what happens off the pitch, you start to perform better on it. That’s the key for footballers: work hard for the team and don’t worry about the criticism,” said Endrick, who is expecting the birth of his first child by the end of the year.
“I’ve been through a lot of things I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle. I’ve suffered a lot on social media, with internet haters. That’s really bad. But when you’re doing well, you don’t let it get to you; you just ignore it. That’s helped me a lot. We’re expanding our family and we want to expand it even further. Having that good, strong relationship off the pitch helps me go out there feeling relaxed and do my best. I know I have my wife and my family by my side.”
Dreams of facing Cristiano Ronaldo
With his call-up to the Brazilian national team confirmed on 18 May, Endrick is preparing to face some of the biggest stars in world football. As well as the title, which would be Brazil’s sixth, he is also looking forward to a possible clash with Cristiano Ronaldo, his biggest role model in the sport.
“I have definitely imagined facing Cristiano Ronaldo at a World Cup. I won’t lie. The World Cup is the only place where I could meet him to play a match, to play against him. I’ve thought about it a lot. God willing, I’ll be called up so I can face Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s my great idol, he’s a fantastic player.”
“He follows me on Instagram, but I only see his posts. I’d like to send him a message, but I’m too shy to do so. I’m happy that he follows me; that alone is enough. He’s my idol,” he added.
Endrick & the mutlilingual project
Like Endrick, Cristiano Ronaldo’s mother tongue is Portuguese. The language is a problem for many Brazilians, but not for Endrick. As well as being fluent in Spanish, he also speaks English and is getting better and better at French, a language he has been learning since late 2025.
In recent weeks, he gave an interview in French to the local press in Lyon and impressed with his command of the language. Now, the next step will be to learn Italian.
“My language project is going well. I’m making good progress with my goal of speaking five languages. I speak Portuguese, English and Spanish well. Now I’m learning French, and soon I’ll be able to speak it well. After that, I want to learn Italian.”
Carlo Ancelotti & the World Cup
Endrick’s goal is to secure a place in European competition and only then think about the World Cup. Lyon face Toulouse and conclude the league campaign against Lens, currently second in the table, on 17 May, one day before the squad announcement. Should he be called up, Endrick will be reunited with Carlo Ancelotti, the manager he worked with at Real Madrid and for whom he has great affection.
“I learnt so much from Ancelotti in every way, but what’s great about him is his day-to-day approach. What he does in training and with the players is very different. I used to enjoy watching all the work, the players’ behaviour. Sometimes it’s better to watch than to do something. I used to watch everything. I learnt just by watching Modric, Vini, Rodrygo, everything they did. I learnt a lot about football from them. And I learnt a lot from Ancelotti about tactics. Everything I learnt at Real Madrid, I’ve been putting into practice here at Lyon,” he concluded.
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