Real Madrid not ready to make €60m move for next Vinicius Jr.
FT Desk
- 12 Sep 2022 11:14 CDT
- 3 min read
Real Madrid have a rich history of plucking players from Brazil and turning them into global superstars, but they are not rushing into a move for Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick.
Vinicius Junior has become one of the hottest properties in world football since making a €46 million transfer from Flamengo in the summer of 2018, scoring 22 goals last season and assisting 20 more as Real won the double of La Liga and Champions League.
Compatriot Rodrygo - a €45m arrival from Santos the same summer as Vinicius - had seven goal-involvements in 11 games on the way to their European triumph over Liverpool last term, and the team was backstopped Eder Militao, a Sao Paulo academy graduate who arrived via Porto in 2019.
15-year-old Endrick is wanted by Man Utd, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Remember. The. Name 🇧🇷pic.twitter.com/Ev8sXC9faW— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) April 18, 2022
Karim Benzema was and is the focal point of the Real attack, and he is the odds on favourite to win October's Ballon d'Or, but with the Frenchman turning 35 in December, Real are understood to be scouting potential replacements, and Palmeiras youngster Endrick has been making waves.
Huge potential
Still just 16, Endrick scored seven goals in seven games at January's Copa Sao Paulo de Futebol Junior competition, and Real, Barcelona and others have been credited with an interest. But Real won't pounce quite yet, according to Marca.
"The Endrick thing at this moment in time is complete utopia," they write. "The Palmeiras striker, beyond what [his agent] Wagner Ribeiro said this week about PSG being a possible destination, is a fantasy player, and a gamble for Real Madrid they're not willing to take."
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"Endrick is 16 and should spend two more seasons in Brazil. The possible purchase option will be activated soon, and the price will be around €60m, an amount they consider disproportionate."
Vinicius and Rodrygo were both signed on their 18th birthdays, and Endrick is unable to leave Brazil for Europe until he reached the same landmark.
