Endrick: “Bellingham was really important to me. He made me feel welcome”

“I no longer pay attention to what others say. When you take all that out of your life, things get easier. ”When I stepped back, I focused only on playing football and doing my best for my team. Once you ignore what happens off the pitch, you start performing better on it. That’s the key for footballers. Work hard for the team and don’t worry about the criticism. “When I started out, I handled social media and criticism very badly. I’d come off the pitch and would head straight to Twitter [now X], to social media, to see what people were saying about me. I wanted to have my ego inflated. But that’s not a good thing. Thank God that period is over. When the match is over, I stay calm and focus on my recovery. I don’t care about that criticism any more.” The Brazilian also shared a more personal perspective on his life away from football, expressing his hopes for his future family. “I hope my future child becomes a great person, a great human being. And that he sees me off the pitch as a normal person, not as Endrick the footballer. Football isn’t a nice place. It’s a very tough environment. I hope he or she becomes a lawyer, a doctor or anything else, and can be happy in his own world.” Endrick addressed the difficulties he faced during his time at Real Madrid, particularly dealing with injury setbacks that disrupted his progress. “I had a complicated injury at Real Madrid and lost a lot of time. It kept me away from many matches, training and work. I couldn’t compete. When you get injured, you lose everything. You lose the chance to fight for a place. These are things beyond my control,” “I was really afraid. I cried several times. That’s something you do in private. I didn’t know how to deal with my injury, what to expect. You don’t know if you’ll have a relapse, if you’ll keep your strength, if you’ll come back weaker. That affects you a lot. You get scared of the future. But I knew I had to keep going. If I’d had another injury, I’d have gone through the whole process again. I knew that when I came back, I’d have to give it my best..” He also highlighted the role of teammates in helping him settle at the club, singling out Jude Bellingham for his support. “Bellingham was really important to me. He made me feel welcome at the club. I didn’t speak English very well, but he spoke to me, tried to speak a bit of Spanish, was by my side and gave me advice. “His friendship was important to me in my beginning at Real Madrid. That really had an impact on me. I had a certain impression of him before I arrived, but he was completely different. He’s an incredible player and an incredible person too, especially when it comes to friendship. That’s what impressed me the most about him.” Endrick also spoke with admiration about , describing the veteran midfielder’s professionalism and influence. “Modric was the player who most impressed me at Real Madrid: 100%. He’s a guy who taught me a lot in my first year. Not just in training, but also in matches. It was a football masterclass. He was 40 years old and very strong. He trained every day. When he wasn’t playing, he’d go to the club and train, doing his own extra training. The way he plays is incredible. He always gave me tips, telling me what I should do on the pitch. That helped me a lot. He was one of the most incredible guys I’ve ever met in football.” Looking ahead, the forward made clear that his immediate focus is on performing well at club level, with a long-term ambition of representing Brazil on the biggest stage. “My first desire is to play the World Cup. I need to be there. That’s my first thought. Before thinking about the title, I need to do my job well at Lyon. I’m focused here. I need to play well in these remaining games to secure my place. My dream is to play the World Cup and help my country. I’ll do my best to help Brazil.”