Endrick talks Bellingham, Modric, Real Madrid, Lyon, Brazil and more – ‘Football isn’t a nice place’

Endrick on his fortunes with Brazil

He began by recounting a night against Croatia in late March, when Ancelotti had publicly suggested he was a player for the future rather than the present. These were words that landed heavily on the player.

“It was a night of doubts and a sense of urgency — I knew it could be my last chance. I prayed a lot. I knew that day could be a turning point for me.

“I played well, one of my best performances. I managed to shake off those negative thoughts, that sense of urgency, that pressure to play well, that it might be my last chance,” he said.

“That helped me take the weight off my shoulders because I knew I had to play well to make it to the World Cup. But I managed to shake off that thought, I didn’t let it affect me and played a great game,” he added.

Endrick came off the bench with 15 minutes remaining, earned a penalty and assisted Brazil’s third in a 3-1 victory that changed the conversation around his World Cup prospects entirely.

With three Lyon matches remaining and Brazil’s World Cup opener against Morocco on 13 June fast approaching, Endrick knows exactly what is at stake.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Endrick is eager to play the World Cup. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Endrick on managing social media critics and personal life

On how he has learned to filter out the noise that surrounds Brazilian football and his own career, he said ignoring some of the critics is essential.

“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. That’s the key for footballers. Work hard for the team and don’t worry about the criticism.”

He admitted that his relationship with criticism and social media was very different when he first arrived in European football.

“When I started out, I handled social media and criticism very badly. I’d come off the pitch and would head straight to Twitter, 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,” he said.

Away from football, Endrick is also preparing for fatherhood. His wife Gabriely is expecting their first child at the end of the year, and when asked whether he hopes his son or daughter follows him into football, his answer was telling.

“I hope he or she 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,” he said.

Endrick on his injury, Bellingham and Modric

The injury that kept him out for three months during his time at Real Madrid left a deep mark, one Endrick was candid about.

“I had a complicated injury 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,” he said.

“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.

Endrick will be eager to return to Real Madrid. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)

“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 added.

Through that period, Jude Bellingham proved to be an unexpected source of support, the striker revealed, as he admired the Englishman.

“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,” he said.

Luka Modric left an equally lasting impression on the young Brazilian during his first year in Madrid.

“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 said.

“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,” he added.