Endrick's father reveals how close Brazilian prodigy was to €60m Chelsea move

Endrick will link up with Real Madrid when he turns 18 next summer, but things could easily have been different for the Brazilian prodigy because an agreement with Chelsea was in place first.

Madrid secured a €60m (£51.5m) deal last December, mirroring pre-agreements the club had struck to sign both Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo from Brazilian sides in previous years.

Yet the Spanish giants might never have got that far if Chelsea hadn't seemingly pulled out late in the process, according to revelations from Endrick's father.

"We received an invitation from Chelsea, from the owner, and we went there to see the club and the country. We saw Chelsea play against Arsenal and we had the opportunity to see the coach, the facilities, Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva," Douglas Sousa told The Guardian.

"They explained everything to us. We were introduced to the person who would help us settle in. She showed us the house we would live in, the school that Endrick would attend, the church we would attend. Everything was in order for us and Chelsea.

"However, everything was twisted at the last moment. I can't say 100% because I hadn't signed yet, but the agreement was closed. I had already thought that I would live in London with all that cold weather. But then, at night, my son's representative called and said that the owner of Chelsea withdrew from the deal because the price they would have to pay for Endrick would inflate the market.

"It was €60m in total for a 16-year-old boy who would arrive in the country almost two years later. Then, Real Madrid arrived."

Endrick, who recently surpassed Neymar's record for most goals scored by a teenager in Brazil's top flight, is destined for big things. When 90min projected the next decade using Football Manager 2024, the forward placed second in the Ballon d'Or rankings behind Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal in 2032, by which time he had joined Manchester United for £124m. Endrick then won it in 2034.

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