Brazil forward Endrick has revealed what it’ll take him time to succeed at Real Madrid following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe at the Spanish club.
Mbappe was announced as a Madrid player just days after they won the Champions League and the Frenchman will arrive this summer alongside Endrick.
Endrick who is currently the Brazilian national team preparing for the Copa America noted that he will face tough competition to make an impression when he joins Real Madrid.
Speaking with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Endrick stated that he is unfazed by the challenges ahead.
According to him, he knows what he has to do from the start at Madrid.
“No one is supposed to know me well,” Endrick said. “I am the one who is arriving, I have to introduce myself.”
Endrick said Madrid would be favorite to win its 16th Champions League title next season.
“The more you win at Madrid, the more you have to win. There’s no rest,” the 17-year-old Endrick said as he prepares to train with Brazil’s Copa America squad.
“The biggest difference between South America and Europe is the intensity of the game, but Palmeiras is the most European of Brazilian teams, and that will help in my adaptation,” said the striker, whose only professional club coach until now has been Portuguese Abel Ferreira.
Asked where he would fit into Madrid’s winning team, Endrick said that will be a decision for coach Carlo Ancelotti. So far, the Brazilian has mostly played as a center forward.
“With this squad, I can’t think about choosing anything. There’s only world-class players. I leave that (decision) to Ancelotti, he is also world-class and will find a solution,” said Endrick, a boyhood fan of the club and its former star Cristiano Ronaldo, much like new signing Mbappé.
Endrick leaves Brazil as a beloved player at Palmeiras after 81 matches and 21 goals, some of them key for the club’s title-winning form in recent years.
His signing in December 2022 cost Madrid more than 40 million euros ($43.5 million), but Madrid had to wait until Endrick turns 18 in July this year as he continued to play for Palmeiras.
