During his stint in Qatar to watch some matches of the World Cup, Xavi Hernández, FC Barcelona head coach, made a surprising statement to ESPN Brazil, where he revealed that he was really keen on Endrick, the 16-year-old revelation from Brazil who is poised to be a star in the future. “We’ve been talking to his father and also to him. I told him about the project. We want talents such as him. He’s the type of player we need,” Xavi told ESPN last Friday.
Endrick, just like he’s done with many other teams, spent time in Barcelona last year to see the facilities of the team, spoke to Xavi, and even saw the Europa League match between Barça and Napoli at Camp Nou. After that, he went to Madrid, where he also saw a match in Santiago Bernabéu, and then did the same with PSG in Paris and Chelsea in London.
Beyond the obstacles in Barça’s way to get Endrick - PSG already offered 50 million to Palmeiras, including bonuses, and Real Madrid is also looming -, sources at Barça state that the club believes Endrickk has already made a commitment with another club, so, no matter how much Xavi Hernandez and the team officials have scouted him, the club can’t do anything if the player has already given his word to another team. Although Barça doesn’t want to name a specific country for Endrick, many reports claim that he might have leaned towards Madrid to play alongside his countrymen Vinicius, Rodrygo, and Militao.
Endrick will be linked to Palmeiras until the summer of 2024 - he turns 18 on July 21st of that year -, but Madrid is using the same plan that worked to get Rodrygo and Vinicius, who the team signed before they turned 18 but reached an agreement with their respective clubs so they could stay until they were 18 years old.
Other targets on the radar
Although Endrick could slip away, Barça has other great targets, such as Athletico Paranaense Vitor Roque, who reached the Copa Libertadores final at only 17 years old, and Estevao Williams, 15 years old, Endrick’s teammate at Palmeira’s lower rank. While they wait for a definite conclusion to the Endrick saga, team officials really like Vitor Roque’s profile, who’s turning 18 next February 28.
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