Real spent $ 76 million to buy a 16-year-old striker
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Real has not signed this deal, but has reached a verbal agreement with Palmeiras and Endrick. The La Liga champions will prepare documents to sign a contract right in December 2022. However, the 16-year-old striker can only play for Real from July 2024, when he turns 18, because that is the minimum age for players to be transferred internationally.
Romano is considered a transfer news tycoon, and when he uses the phrase "here we go", the deal is usually closed.
Real will pay Palmeiras $ 63 million in transfer fees and $ 13 million in taxes. Endrick will become the most expensive 16-year-old player in history, and also enter the Top 50 most expensive deals of all time. Endrick will be more expensive than senior Kaka - who moved from Milan to Real in the summer of 2009 for $ 71 million.
Marca said Real once gave up the Erling Haaland deal to focus on recruiting Endrick. The 16-year-old striker has just signed his first professional contract with Palmeiras in the summer of 2022, with a term of three years. To buy Endrick, Real had to compete with PSG, Chelsea.
Palmeiras is the most traditional club in Brazil, based in the Perdizes district, Sao Paulo city. They are holding the record of three times South American champion (Copa Libertadores) and 11 times Brazilian champion. Striker Gabriel Jesus also grew up from this team.
Endrick was born in 2006 in the capital Brasilia, playing football since the age of 4. He joined Palmeiras' youth academy at the age of 11, and also helped his father get a job as a cleaner at the football team. Endrick is 1.73 m tall, left-footed and has the same style of play as his predecessors like Ronaldo or Romario, but idolizes Cristiano Ronaldo.
Endrick played his first professional game on October 6 for the Palmeiras first team in the Brazilian championship. On October 25, he scored a brace to help the home team beat Athletico Paranaense 3-1, to become the second youngest player to score in the tournament's history. Endrick played seven games for Palmeiras, scoring three goals.
Real also recruited young Brazilian talent like Vinicius Junior or Rodrygo Goes in a similar way, when they were 17 years old. Real had to wait a year to register these two players. Currently, Vinicius occupies an official position at Real as well as the Brazilian team in the 2022 World Cup, and Rodrygo is also gradually asserting himself.
