"Modric was the player who most impressed me at Real Madrid: 100%." That's Endrick — 19 years old, currently tearing through Ligue 1 on loan at Lyon — looking back on a first year at the Bernabeu that could have broken a lesser teenager.
In a candid interview with The Guardian, the Brazilian forward pulled back the curtain on life inside one of the most pressure-loaded dressing rooms in world football. What he found wasn't what he expected.
Bellingham broke the ice
Endrick arrived at Madrid in 2024 at 17, dropped into a squad of world-class players with no shared language and every reason to feel invisible. Jude Bellingham made sure that didn't happen. "He made me feel welcome at the club. I didn't speak English very well, but he spoke to me, tried to speak a bit of Spanish, was by my side and gave me advice."
He'd had preconceptions about the English midfielder before arriving. They didn't survive contact with reality. "He was completely different. He's an incredible player and an incredible person too, especially when it comes to friendship." Coming from a teenager navigating a foreign country and a foreign language, that carries weight.
A 40-year-old showing everyone how it's done
But if Bellingham eased the transition off the pitch, it was Luka Modric who shaped Endrick as a footballer. "He taught me a lot in my first year. Not just in training, but also in matches. It was a football masterclass."
What struck Endrick most wasn't just Modric's quality — it was his discipline. "He was 40 years old and very strong. He trained every day. When he wasn't playing, he'd go to the club and train, doing his own extra training." For a teenager still figuring out what professional football demands, watching that up close daily is worth more than any coaching session.
"He was one of the most incredible guys I've ever met in football," Endrick said. High praise. Earned.
Now in Lyon, Endrick has seven goals and six assists across all competitions — numbers that suggest the loan is doing exactly what Madrid hoped. Los Blancos are reportedly keen to bring him back to the Spanish capital next season. If that happens, he returns a different player to the one who left — and with a very clear idea of the standards expected inside that dressing room.
