Endrick is one of the world’s best teenage players at the moment. Hailing from Brazilian club Palmeiras, the Brazilian is just 17 years old and is already one of the players destined for greatness in the future.
Real Madrid bought him for €60 million after many clubs sought his signature. He will join the Los Blancos at the conclusion of the season in 2024. He has also recently made his debut for the national team against Colombia, becoming the fourth youngest player in their history.
Endrick picks Ronaldo over Messi
Endrick is in the squad as Brazil prepares for their World Cup Qualifier game against Argentina. With the prospect of facing Lionel Messi himself, the young player was asked in a press conference about the chance to meet the Argentine great on the pitch.
Endrick was full of praise for the eight time Ballon d’Or winner, saying, “About Messi, it’s phenomenal. Very good, best in the world again. I just want to enjoy the moment of being able to play against him, being in the same stadium as him, looking at him up close, I only saw him in the video game.”
🇧🇷 Endrick: “My dream since I was a kid was to play for Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo is my idol”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 20, 2023
“Messi is a phenomenal guy! But I'm more of a fan of Cristiano…”.
“It’s a great pride knowing that I’ll wear the same shirt as Cristiano”. pic.twitter.com/pWBlcXreAj
Despite all the praise for Messi, Endrick admitted that he prefers his rival Cristiano Ronaldo instead. “Messi is a great player, but I’m more of a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. Now I’m seeing Messi up close, it’s going to be wonderful. It’s a great pride knowing that I’ll wear the same shirt as Cristiano.”
Cristiano Ronaldo is a legend of Real Madrid, which is Endrick’s next club. He scored 450 goals for them and is one of their all time greats. This is maybe why he prefers the Portuguese over his Argentine counterpart. However, Endrick thinks that Pele is the greatest player ever, not Ronaldo or Messi, “Pele is the King. There is no one who will come close to him.”
Brazil set to face Argentina after losing to Colombia
Brazil will now face Argentina in what will be one of their most difficult tests in the road to the 2026 World Cup qualifying. They have lost back-to-back games against Uruguay and Colombia, conceding two goals to Luis Diaz, which resulted in a 2-1 comeback victory for the Colombians.
Tomorrow, they face the World Champions for the first time since the 2021 Copa America final, which they lost 1-0. Argentina also recently lost against Uruguay, their first defeat since winning the World Cup.
The Selecao are currently fifth in the standings and will hope for a victory to strengthen their claims. They have two wins in the five games they have played so far. The highly anticipated clash will happen tomorrow at the iconic Maracana stadium.
