Is Endrick really worth €72m and no Erling Haaland?!

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:00 CDT
• 4 min read

Real Madrid beat a host of European giants to Brazilian wonderkid Endrick, but at what cost?

Endrick became Palmeiras' youngest player and scorer in October, having previously lit up Brazilian youth football with 165 goals in 169 games for their age group teams before turning pro this year.

The scramble for Endrick's signature was accordingly intense, with Barcelona, PSG and Chelsea also in the running to sign him; the latter even giving him a tour of their Cobham training centre and introducing him to Selecao veteran Thiago Silva.

But Real won the race on Thursday, agreeing terms on a €72 million transfer, including €12 in taxes, which will see Endrick leave for Madrid in July 2024 once he has turned 18.

READ: OFFICIAL: Real Madrid sign Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick for €72m

Two factors are understood to have played important roles in Endrick's decision. One was the examples of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in recent seasons, the young Brazilian attackers who gave gone from promising prospects to European champions at the Bernabeu. Socially, their presence should also help.

But the second factor could prove to be a bigger gamble than even the aforementioned financial outlay: Endrick and his advisors would reportedly only agree to a move to the Spanish capital if there wasn't a No.9 blocking his path to the first team by 2024 - effectively ruling out a move for Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland.

Haaland oversight

The same Erling Haaland who has taken the Premier League by storm following his €60m arrival from Borussia Dortmund last summer, hitting 18 goals in 13 games at a rate of one every 58 minutes. The same Haaland who wants to end up at Real if his father and agent Alfie are to be believed. The same Haaland who has already proved beyond doubt he is a top striker in a major European league or two.

READ: Why Erling Haaland is no longer a transfer priority for Real Madrid

Endrick might prove to be a shrewd acquisition, but he is only seven games into his senior professional career - which have now returned three goals and an assist. There is every chance he could go on the same journey as Vinicius and Rodrygo, but what if he doesn't?

Brazilian football history is littered with young players who were tipped for greatness only to fall flat, with the two Milans, Inter and AC, enduring two recent examples in Kerlon and Alexandre Pato.

Kerlon was signed by Inter from Cruzeiro, via Chievo Verona, in 2008 with eight goals in seven Brazil under-17 outings to his name and a seemingly undefendable "seal dribble" in his repertoire. But his career soon fizzled out with spells in Japan, the USA, Malta and Slovakia across what should have been his prime years.

AC Milan signed Pato from Intercional a year earlier, and although he won the Golden Boy in 2009 after 18 goals in 42 games in all competitions, he returned to Corinthians aged 24 and gradually faded into obscurity, with spells at Tianjin Tianhai and Orlando City on his playing CV.

"I didn't win the Ballon d'Or, but if life is a game, I won," he later said in an Player Tribune piece reflecting on his career.

Endrick could end up being one of the best players in world football, and too much pessimism as to his development shouldn't be welcomed.

But for €72m and no Haaland, Real will have serious egg on their face if he ends up less Vinicius and more Kerlon.