Endrick's Journey: From Real Madrid to Lyon and World Cup Aspirations

Endrick leans back, smiles, and doesn’t bother hiding how hard the last year has been.

“The first year is always tough,” he told Men in Blazers on YouTube, and he isn’t talking in clichés. He’s talking about walking into a dressing room that reads like a Ballon d’Or shortlist.

You arrive at Real Madrid and see Luka Modric. Vinicius. Rodrygo. The air changes. Every training session feels like an exam.

“You arrive at a club with players like [Luka] Modric, Vinicius, Rodrygo… It’s very difficult to play with all of them, but you also learn a lot,” he said. “I’ve been able to put everything I’ve learned into practice at Lyon, and when I return I’ll be able to demonstrate it there.”

That line says plenty. Endrick knows he hasn’t cracked Madrid yet. But he also knows this is a pause, not a full stop.

A support network of superstars

The minutes were scarce. The expectations weren’t. For a teenager, that can crush you. Endrick found a way through it, and it didn’t come from a sports psychologist or a PR strategy. It came from the dressing room.

“Bellingham calls me every day,” he revealed. Not occasionally. Every day.

“When I was feeling down, he’d pick me up and we’d talk. He helped me a lot. Trent too. They’re very approachable players.”

For all the glitz around modern stars, that detail cuts through: Jude Bellingham, one of the faces of Real Madrid’s future, making time to check in on a struggling teammate. Trent Alexander-Arnold, another established name, doing the same.

Endrick tries to soak it all in — the habits, the mentality, even the language.

“I try to learn from them, including English, but it’s impossible to understand them,” he joked, a reminder that behind the transfer fees and headlines is a teenager still wrestling with accents and slang.

Lyon as a turning point

The big decision came next. Stay in the orbit of the Bernabeu and fight for scraps, or leave to actually play? For Endrick, the answer arrived with conviction.

“It wasn’t difficult to go to Lyon,” he said. “In the end, God told me I had to go, and I went. I wasn’t afraid; it’s been one of the best decisions of my life. I needed to play. I’ve been able to score goals, provide assists, and play a lot of minutes.”

No drama. No regret. Just a clear, footballer’s logic: you cannot grow on the bench.

At Lyon, the theory became reality. Minutes turned into rhythm, rhythm into confidence. The talent that tempted Madrid in the first place finally had room to breathe. For a player his age, that kind of responsibility is priceless.

A World Cup dream, and the weight of Brazil

All of this builds toward the stage every Brazilian forward grows up imagining: the World Cup.

“Playing in a World Cup is the greatest thing. Being able to represent my country is a dream come true,” Endrick said, fully aware of the weight that comes with that yellow shirt.

“The World Cup is very important to people, and it's been a long time since we won it.”

There it is: the drought. Every Brazil generation lives in the shadow of 2002, and for a young striker, that history can feel like both a target and a burden.

He doesn’t dodge the names that define his path either. One in particular.

“Neymar has Brazilian DNA. He's one of the best in our history.”

From Neymar, he inherits a lineage of flair and expectation. From Carlo Ancelotti, he gets something else: trust.

“I get along very well with Ancelotti. He's a great coach and understands you very well as a person. I know they have a lot of respect for me.”

Respect from Madrid. Love from Brazil. Real minutes in Lyon. A World Cup on the horizon.

For a teenager who admits the first year “is always tough,” the question now is no longer whether he belongs at this level — it’s how quickly he turns all of this experience into the kind of career Real Madrid believed they were buying.