Real Madrid’s Endrick has not played in five months. What’s going on?

When Real Madrid travel to Getafe for their first La Liga match after the current international window, Endrick will have gone 154 days — just over five months — without having played a game of football.

The 19-year-old Brazilian forward last featured for Madrid against Sevilla on May 18, the penultimate weekend of the previous Spanish league season. Since then, he has seen their head coach Carlo Ancelotti replaced with Xabi Alonso, suffered two muscle injuries, faced rumours of a potential exit in the summer transfer window and taken on the club’s iconic No 9 shirt.

This is the third straight international window where Endrick has not been called up by Brazil, with his most recent appearance being the 4-1 defeat against Argentina in March which led to coach Dorival Junior’s dismissal — and Ancelotti subsequently leaving Madrid to replace him.

People familiar with his situation at Madrid told The Athletic that Alonso explained to Endrick it was going to be difficult for him to have regular playing time in this season’s new-look team, but he decided to stay at the Bernabeu anyway.

“There is a lot of competition now, in his position and in the surrounding areas as well,” Alonso said last week, before the game against Villarreal. “His time will come.” That match on Saturday, a 3-1 home win for Madrid, then became the fifth in a row where Endrick made Alonso’s squad but was an unused substitute.

So, how is he dealing with this situation and what is the plan for the youngster Madrid signed for €35million (£30.4m; $40.7m at current exchange rates) plus a potential €25m in add-ons?

Endrick’s first season as a Real Madrid player left a positive impression on those at the club and was always seen as a period of adaptation and learning. Madrid agreed the transfer with Palmeiras in December 2022, but he could not join until he turned 18 last summer.

During that first year, especially when the forward felt he could play a more prominent role, the club’s board used statistics from other young talents’ debut seasons to show Endrick that he was on the right path.

He ended up making 37 first-team appearances across all competitions, compared to 31 and 26 by his fellow Brazilians Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in their first campaigns as youngsters at the Bernabeu — albeit both played more minutes overall than his 847 (1,742 and 1,428 respectively). He scored seven goals, the same as Rodrygo in his 2019-20 debut season and three more than Vinicius Jr got in his a year earlier.

There was consensus behind the scenes that Ancelotti’s reservations about giving young players a chance were a decisive factor in Endrick’s lack of playing time. When asked about the Brazilian and the now 20-year-old Arda Guler in May, the Italian told a press conference that prospects of their ages at Madrid had to “warm the bench” until they became undisputed starters.

Alonso’s arrival at the end of that month was seen as an opportunity for the club’s youngsters to have a fresh start. But that does not seem to have been the case for Endrick.

The two injuries he has suffered have made a significant impact. The first, a hamstring problem picked up in that May game against Sevilla, left him with no chance of featuring in the Club World Cup in the United States.

While his team-mates and new boss flew out to that tournament, Endrick stayed in Spain, rehabbing with club specialists at Madrid’s Valdebebas base and at home with a personal trainer he has worked with since Palmeiras. He was doing three training sessions a day to try to get back up to speed.

While he was recovering, academy striker Gonzalo Garcia was shining in his position at the Club World Cup. The 21-year-old ended up winning the tournament’s Golden Boot with four goals in six games, taking full advantage of an ill Kylian Mbappe being absent from the three group matches. In that context, Endrick decided to travel to the U.S. at the end of June, to be closer to the new coach and backroom staff, along with his colleagues.

Endrick began by training separately from the group in Palm Beach, near Miami, where Madrid had their base camp. Then, in the first session back working with his team-mates, he suffered a recurrence of the same injury. The club did not issue a medical update and players and coaches went on their summer break following the semi-final defeat against Paris Saint-Germain on July 9.

For Endrick, the setback was significant. He would not be available to play again until September, and had to start from scratch under Alonso.

When Endrick returned to Madrid, he married partner Gabriely Miranda — they had the legal wedding in Brazil, then held a celebration at a country estate in the Spanish capital with family and friends. The couple went to Japan on honeymoon, taking Endrick’s personal trainer with them so they could work on getting over his hamstring issue.

In the background, there were constant reports of a possible transfer, though those close to Endrick have always denied talks between the player and the board took place and that he was close to joining Real Sociedad on loan.

Then, in August, Endrick finally received some encouraging news. He was to be Madrid’s new No 9, taking over the shirt previously worn by club legends including Alfredo Di Stefano, Ronaldo Nazario and Karim Benzema — although we have yet to see him wear it on the pitch. Reports had suggested it would go to Gonzalo, who was close to renewing his contract to stay with the first team.

The specialists who were involved in his rehab work have also helped Endrick get to know his body better. The muscle injuries he suffered at Palmeiras, combined with these two in recent months, meant he needed time to heal completely.

In mid-September, staff sources said Alonso and his team had been closely monitoring Endrick’s progress. But, when asked about him finally playing under Alonso, they pointed out Gonzalo has barely featured so far this season either despite seizing the chance given to him in the U.S. “He has an eye for goal, he needs very little to shoot, he has a brutal finish, he also picks out space very well,” Alonso said of Endrick last week.

Endrick returned to the squad for the September 20 match against Espanyol, but was an unused substitute that day and in all four matches across La Liga and the Champions League since.

Now he is spending another international break at home in Madrid, with Ancelotti not calling him up for Brazil’s friendlies away to South Korea today (Friday) and Japan on Tuesday. Voices close to Endrick say the Italian has affection for him given their time together at Madrid, and that the teenager is working to get the playing time which will return him to the national team before next year’s World Cup.

The lack of opportunities with Madrid and absence from recent Brazil squads mean those closest to Endrick are sticking to their initial plan: to review his situation in January so he has the best chance of making the World Cup squad. That could see him go out on loan for the second half of this season if necessary to get the playing time he needs.

Thiago Freitas, his agent at the Jay Z-founded entertainment company Roc Nation, tells The Athletic that Endrick is “confident” he will be back playing soon. “He has already proven he always makes the most of his minutes on the pitch,” he adds. Endrick’s seven goals for Madrid have come in just 847 minutes of playing time — meaning he averages 0.74 goals per 90 minutes.

Everyone at Madrid highlights the maturity, dedication and talent of a player who only turned 19 in July. But Endrick will need plenty of all three to remain patient until his opportunity to play for Alonso arrives — and then make the most of it.

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