Escape from Madrid: Endrick heads to Ligue 1 to restart his career
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 23.12.25. | 11:23
From a €60m promise at Real Madrid to a six-month rescue mission in France
Real Madrid is not for everyone. And Endrick learned that lesson early.
The Brazilian prodigy is set to leave the Bernabeu, at least temporarily. According to L'Equipe, Olimpique Lyon have reached an agreement with Real Madrid for a six-month loan of the 19-year-old striker, with no option to buy. Just a chance to breathe, play - and prove himself.
Lyon needed a No. 9 after parting ways with Alexandre Lacazette and Georges Mikautadze. Endrick was identified early as the solution, and the player's answer was immediate. He wants minutes. He wants relevance. He wants to stay in Brazil's World Cup conversation.
In Madrid, those minutes never came.
Signed from Palmeiras in a blockbuster deal worth up to €60 million, Endrick arrived with the weight of expectation and the promise of following the Vinicius-Rodrygo path.
Reality was harsher. In his first season, he logged 847 minutes across 37 games, mostly from the bench, scoring seven goals - often against weaker opposition or in the Copa del Rey.
This season was worse. Under Xabi Alonso, his role shrank to almost nothing: three appearances, 99 minutes, no impact. The message was clear. The door, not fully closed, but barely open.
So Endrick chose Lyon.
Les Gones will pay €1 million for the loan and cover half of his salary, handing him the No. 9 shirt and a leading role in Paulo Fonseca's attack. For a club in financial trouble, unable to spend big, it’s a calculated gamble - one that could revive their season and push them back toward the Champions League places.
There is precedent. In 2017, Mariano Diaz followed the same path: from Madrid bench to Lyon goals: 21 goals in 45 games, then a profitable return to Spain. Endrick won't have a buy option behind him, but Lyon hope the pitch will do the talking.
For Endrick, it's simple: Madrid can wait, and the World Cup cannot.
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