The La Liga club had agreed to sign Endrick from Palmeiras, based in Sao Paulo, in 2022. The agreement was set for him to join Madrid in July 2024 when he turned 18.
Endrick, who will wear Real’s number 16 jersey, was reportedly signed for an initial fee of 35 million euros ($38 million) with an additional 25 million euros in potential add-ons.
“This is crazy! I’m so happy. Since I was a kid, I have always been a Madrid fan, and now I am going to play for Madrid,” Endrick said at his presentation ceremony. “I don’t have words to describe what I am feeling. I always wanted to be here. I wanted to play for Madrid. It was a dream. Today, it is a reality.”
Endrick, a product of the Palmeiras academy, has scored three goals in 10 appearances for Brazil since his debut last year. He is the youngest male player to score an international goal at Wembley. He has also scored 21 times in 82 games for Palmeiras.
Born in Taguatinga, Federal District, Endrick has one brother and two sisters.
His father, Douglas de Sousa Silva Ramos, pursued a career in professional football but left the family when Endrick was eleven to play for several small clubs in Brasília.
During that time, his mother was unemployed and homeless, forcing Endrick and his siblings to live in an orphanage in São Paulo until his father returned six months later. Both parents later worked at a cafe in the city’s underground train station before his father got a job as a janitor at Palmeiras.
Endrick started playing football at the age of four, with his father posting videos of his goals on YouTube to attract attention from big Brazilian clubs.
The young lad vowed to become a professional footballer to support his family after his parents struggled to feed him.
At eight, he trained at a Real Madrid camp in Águas Claras with his friends. He grew up supporting Real Madrid, idolising Cristiano Ronaldo, and was inspired by Brazilians like Ronaldo, Vinícius Jr., Rodrygo, and Éder Militão who played for Madrid.
