Endrick tears to title GFXGOAL

From touchline tears to title triumph: Inside Real Madrid-bound Endrick's rollercoaster first senior season at Palmeiras

In October 2022, Endrick was the hottest commodity in Brazilian football. The forward, then 16, made his top-flight debut for league winners Palmeiras after years of impressing for the club's youth sides. Later that month, he bagged a brace against Athletico Paranaense to become the youngest goalscorer in Brazilian Serie A history.

He wasn't exactly unknown - Real Madrid had been pursuing Endrick for nearly a year - but Endrick seemed to be on the verge of superstardom. Los Blancos, accordingly, pounced as soon as Palmeiras were willing to negotiate, paying the Brazilian club €60 million (£52m/$64m) to secure his services starting in summer 2024 - a record fee for a Brasilerao side.

And it's been something of a mixed year since then. Endrick endured a miserable start to the campaign and experienced a middling few months. But recently, though, the teenager has come alive, and looked like the future star many expect him to become.

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It all amounts to the arc of a young player growing his way into the game, and navigating the standard highs and lows that come with being so good, so young.

GOAL takes a look inside Endrick's tumultuous, yet successful, 2023...