Scoring the winner against England to make you the youngest goal scorer ever at Wembley Stadium, then a couple of days later scoring again this time at The Bernabeu against your future El Classico rival, is already a legendary first chapter.

For Endrick Felipe Moreira de Sousa or commonly known as Endrick, like previous Brazilian legends, he’s currently the best talent to come out of the country since Neymar Jr.

With a €60 million move to Real Madrid already secured, two years before he’s even allowed to move to Europe, the teenage striker is already on an unprecedented run to the top of football but is he an industry plant primed to return Brazil to football prominence.

Meeting with his future Real Madrid teammates in January, an iconic shot with team President Florentino Perez highlighting what awaits the striker in the capital city of Spain.

Like previous Brazilian teenage sensations, Romario, Ronaldo, Kaka & Vinicius, Endrick follows a long line of promised talents hailing from South America’s football capital who have all somewhat left their mark on the game.

The Journey So Far….

Endrick was born on the 21st of July, 2006 in Taguatinga, a city close to Brasília. Brazil’s federal capital represents one of the best standards of living in the country but its surrounding area suffers from high levels of violence and poverty.

His father, Douglas, tried his luck with professional football featuring for a couple of smaller clubs in Brazil but inspired his son to begin playing football at four.

At six, Endrick’s school teacher prohibited him from using his stronger foot during games as he had a significant edge over the other children.

At nine, his father recognised his potential after witnessing him dominate in the youth leagues and decided to upload clips from his matches onto Youtube. A video platform that I remind you, Endrick is an entire year younger than.

He began getting recognised by professional clubs in Sao Paulo, SPFC & Corinthians, but the teams ended their interest after refusing to pay for the travel fare of Endrick and his family.

Ultimately, Endrick ended up signing for Corinthians’ Paulista derby and city rivals, Palmieras at the age of 11. The club even offered his father a job as a janitor at the team’s facility, in case he needed a familiar face. Within a year of joining, he was winning man of the match every week playing for the age group above.

For the next five years, he would go on to dominate at a youth level going onto score 165 goals in 169 games for Palmeiras’ youth team.

In 2022, Endrick was selected for Palmeiras U20 squad, despite turning 15 a month prior, for ‘The Copinha’ which is an annual youth tournament where fans can capture an early glimpse of The Selecao’s next superstar. The only trophy missing from the club’s illustrious trophy cabinet.

During the tournament, Palmeiras smashed through their group then beat Internacional in the round of 16. Endrick introduced himself to the world with a Zlatan-esque bicycle kick in the quarter final vs Oeste, squeezing past rivals Sao Paulo to reach the final against Santos. 

Endrick carried his team to the final similar to how Neymar did almost a decade prior with Santos, but it was a different Brazilian legend that Endrick reminded everyone of, the late great Pelé.

You can probably guess, he scored in the final as Palmerias went on to win 4-0. With six goals in seven games, he was the Player of the Tournament at only 15 years old.

The success of his play for the youth teams of Palmeiras and Brazil led to him making his debut against Cortiba, to become the youngest player to ever feature for the club.

On the 25th of October 2022, he was subbed on against Athletico Paranaense and scored his first and second goal to make him the youngest ever goal scorer for the club and the youngest player ever to score a brace, all in the same half of football.

For the remainder of the season, he started every game registering a goal every 102 minutes. Even forcing the club’s top scorer, Rony, out onto the wing. As a teenager, he was able to break into a team that were back to back champions who became league winners once again.

All of this led to Real Madrid announcing that they had reached an agreement with Palmerias, that secured Endrick his dream move to Los Blancos when he turns 18 in 2024. 

The move came as a shock to absolutely no one, with team President Florentino Perez refusing to be burned again by missing out on the next great Brazilian talent, like he had been when Neymar turned down their offer in 2013 to join rivals, Barcelona.

After Madrid lost out on Neymar, there’s no doubt that their transfer policy shifted quite a bit. ‘Galacticos’ at their peaks were always the ethos of the club but we’ve witnessed them put extra emphasis on young stars yet to hit their peaks. 

Martin Ødegaard, Eduardo Camavinga, Take Kubo, Asensio, Jude Bellingham, to name a few represent the slew of highly related teenagers signed in recent years. Whilst some of these names didn’t live up to their potential, some aren’t even at the club anymore, they capture Perez’ determination to ensure the next world class star plays for Real Madrid.

Time will tell as to whether Perez has made up for his loss in missing out on Neymar. With Endrick, they’ve secured an out of this world level talent but transfers in football aren’t an exact science. However, these promised talents from Brazil rarely fail at the very top level of football.

The Seleaco’s Next Superstar 

But for Endrick and other players coming out of Brazil, domestic football is only half of the dream. 

At 17, Endrick became the youngest player to be called up to the National team since Ronaldo in 1994. This is a massive statement from their federation, Neymar was called up at 18 and Vinicus at 19. But their debuts were for friendlies and not World Cup qualifiers.

The Selecao or largely known as the Brazilian national team serves as a glimpse of hope for a nation so passionate about the world’s game.

However, the country finds itself in uncharted territory for the first time ever. For those unaware, Brazil have won the most World Cups ever and are the only team to feature in every edition of the tournament. 

But they are facing a massive problem, they currently sit 6th in the World Cup standings in South America and could fail to qualify for the tournament for the first time ever. Giving up their iconic status as the only team to feature at every World Cup.

You see, Brazil had never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home until their biggest rivals Argentina walked in and beat them 1-0. Then doubling down and losing the next two qualifying games at home.

Since, sacking their manager and hiring Dorivial Juniour who is a decent manager with some success in Brazil. But a disappointment considering their pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti for over a year, who spurned them in favour of coaching Madrid for another season.

The national team is in need of a saviour with Neymar recently turning 32, recovering from an ACL tear and playing football in the Saudi Pro League.

Endrick is still only 17 years old, but the country that once produced some of the best players in the world has fallen short in their talent production. 

It’s been a very long time since one of their own was the undisputed best player in the world, Kaka was the last to win a Ballon D’or before the alien era that involved Ronaldo & Messi. 

Vinicius Jr is likely the heir to the throne but he’s been quite underwhelming for the national team with only three goals. Endrick needs to be the guy for his country and likely will be. 

The promised talents of Brazil represent a collective spirit that thrives on the field, as Endrick takes the stage everyone is eager to witness the next chapter in football history. 

As the sun rises over the Copacabana, the golden glow captures the legacy of Rivaldo, Ronaldinho & Ronaldo as Endrick begins his. In a country, where football is a cultural phenomenon, brilliance is a reality woven into the fabric of their enduring football legacy that lies will now lie on Endrick’s shoulder.