Real loan is flourishing in Lyon
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Endrick is expected to be one of the 26 players that Carlo Ancelotti will have with the Brazilian national team at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The 19-year-old attacker brought himself back into the spotlight while on loan at Olympique Lyon. The youngster moved to France on loan from Real Madrid in January and has since scored eight goals and seven assists in 19 games. Endrick’s flourishing was rewarded with an increase of 10 million euros to 35 million euros in the market value update in Ligue 1 at the end of March after three previous devaluations. The left-footed player, who was sidelined for several months in the second half of 2025 with a thigh injury, has also demonstrated his skills in recent weeks.
In an interview with Transfermarkt.com.br Endrick explains: “It’s very difficult when you get injured. I had a complicated injury and lost a lot of time. I missed a lot of playing time, training and work. I couldn’t keep up. But thank God I was able to come back well. Here in Lyon I played again, got involved again. That was very good for me and got me back into the national team. I made it at the last minute and have to keep working.”
The offensive man was only on the pitch for 99 minutes with the Royals in 2025/26 and his career had already stalled at that point. Because the curve at Endrick has only been pointing downwards since the summer of 2024. Signed by Real Madrid for 47.5 million euros at the time, his market value fell from 60 million euros to 25 million euros. “If you get injured, you lose everything. You lose the chance to fight for a place. I couldn’t do anything about it. These are things that are out of my control. I can only be grateful that I came back well and recovered,” says the Brazilian, who often made the difference in Lyon and thus became interesting for the Seleção again. There he shone in the 3-1 test against Croatia on April 1st with a brace in just a quarter of an hour of playing time.
According to Endrick, he always tries to have the right mindset: “A player has to have self-confidence, but there has to be a balance. A player can’t be too self-confident so as not to lose ground under his feet, but he also can’t go into the game without self-confidence. When you have too much self-confidence, your ego increases and you think it will be easy. That can’t happen. I can’t accept that. I can’t let that dominate my thoughts. I have to stay humble, but I also have to have self-confidence. That’s the only way to do it “It’s about doing things right.” He also showed at Real what he is capable of. In 40 competitive games, Endrick contributed seven goals and one assist. Considering only 946 minutes of operating time, this is a presentable rate.
Endrick on hard training, social media withdrawal and wanting to have children
After six months of sporting irrelevance, Endrick made the move from Madrid to Lyon at the beginning of 2026 on the advice of Kylian Mbappé and Eduardo Camavinga. “It was only in November that I started to feel good. In November I already felt ready to play well and get more chances. But it didn’t happen. I couldn’t play, so I had to work harder to stay in shape. I knew at the beginning of the year that I was going to leave the club. That was the time when I trained the hardest to arrive well at Lyon and be able to play straight away. In November I was in shape but didn’t play. I worked hard in January to arrive at my new club and show what I can do,” the striker reflects.
Endrick has withdrawn from social media – unusual for a young player like him – to strengthen his mental health. “I no longer pay attention to what others say. As soon as you ignore what happens off the field, you start to perform better on the field. That’s the motto for football players. Work hard for the team and don’t mind criticism,” says Endrick, who will become a father at the end of the year, explaining the move.
“I’ve been through a lot of things that I thought I wouldn’t be able to do. I’ve suffered a lot from the internet haters on social networks. That’s very bad. But when you’re doing well, you don’t let it bother you, you ignore it. That’s helped me a lot. We’re going to expand our family and want to have more children. This good and strong relationship off the field helps me to be relaxed on the field and to give my best. I’m aware that I’m growing my wife and my family “I have family by my side,” the Brazilian hopeful continues.
He describes the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as his great idol. “The World Cup is the only place where I could meet him, play a game, play against him. I’ve already thought about it a lot. God willing, I’ll be nominated to play against Cristiano Ronaldo.” Endrick not only shines on the pitch, but also off it with his linguistic skills. In addition to his native Portuguese, he speaks Spanish and English. It shouldn’t stay that way. “Now I’m learning French, soon I’ll be able to speak it well. Then I want to learn Italian.” With Lyon, Endrick is third in the table and on course to qualify for the Champions League. At the World Cup, he and his Brazilian teammates and coach Ancelotti will face Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C.
Original: Thiago Rabelo / German translation: Philipp Marquardt
