The plan for Endrick’s first season at Real Madrid: will Palmeiras and Brazil star go out on loan?

When Real Madrid agreed to sign Endrick Felipe, they had few doubts that they would be getting a future star of global soccer. What the LaLiga giants hadn’t anticipated was that the teenager would find his feet in the professional game quite so quickly, and to quite such spectacular effect. Although not yet 18, the forward has already won two Brazilian league championships with Palmeiras, playing a major role in both title triumphs. What’s more, Endrick has broken a series of age records for the Brazilian national team and is set to go to this summer’s Copa América with the Seleção.

As Diario AS has previously revealed, Madrid are to pay an initial €35 million ($38 million) for the youngster, plus a further €25 million ($27 million) in performance-related add-ons. On the evidence that Endrick has offered up thus far, that deal is shaping up as an absolute steal.

Endrick raring to compete with Mbappé and co

When Endrick lands in Spain - he is due to join Madrid after turning 18 in July - he can expect to be afforded a higher status than that given to Vinícius Junior and Rodrygo Goes on their arrival from Brazil. When Vinícius and Rodrygo first turned up at the Bernabéu as teenagers, they had noticeably less elite-level experience than their compatriot. By the time he becomes a Madrid player, after all, Endrick is on course to have clocked up some 100 games for club and country, having already become a regular pick for Brazil.

Endrick has a clear plan for his arrival in the Spanish capital: although Kylian Mbappé's expected summer signing will heighten competition for places in Madrid’s attack, the 17-year-old relishes the challenge of fighting for his first-team spot at the Bernabéu. He doesn’t want to go out on an initial loan; he believes in his talent.

And although nothing has been stipulated in the contract he has signed with Madrid, the club’s idea is that Endrick will be made a fully-fledged member of the first-team squad from the get-go. While Vinícius began life at the club in the ‘B’ team, for example, this option has been ruled out when it comes to Endrick. Madrid view him as a player who’s already perfectly at home in top-level soccer.

Loan move from Real Madrid not entirely ruled out

However, while Endrick isn’t contemplating a loan move as things stand, the roadmap he has sketched out with his representatives does include an intention to take stock of his situation at the club after his first six months in Spain. Coinciding with the opening of the January transfer window, that would be the moment to consider a potential temporary switch if need be. For a loan move to truly be considered, though, Endrick would have to be almost completely frozen out of the first-team picture - and that’s an eventuality that simply isn’t anticipated.

Endrick’s exciting business boost for Real Madrid

Madrid don’t only expect Endrick to be a fruitful investment on the field. He has already established himself as a global icon, amassing more than 14 million followers on his social-media accounts - including 10 on Instagram. He’s the only soccer player under the age of 18 with such a follower count; by comparison, Barcelona and Spain’s 16-year-old starlet Lamine Yamal has just under seven million. A footballer who’s being inundated with endorsement proposals, Endrick offers Madrid the prospect of a healthy financial return, given that they have negotiated a 50-50 split of the youngster’s image rights.

Despite his youth, he has five sponsors: the sportswear label New Balance, the dental hygiene firm OdontoCompany, the streaming service HBO Max, the betting company Red do Pitacob, and the pharmaceutical brand Neosaldina. Ahead of the Copa América, which takes place in the United States in June and July, he is to be the face of Panini’s tournament sticker album in the Brazilian market.