Brazilian wonderkid Endrick has been grabbing headlines since bursting into professional football while still only 16-years-old with Palmeiras, gaining plenty of admirers along the way.
Former England striker Gary Lineker is among the list of great international strikers to recognise the talent of Endrick, tweeting in January 2022 about an incredible overhead kick the young forward for Palmeiras' U20 side against Oeste in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior.
Lineker tweeted: "Crikey, he’s at it again. He’s 15. I think we might be seeing a very special talent emerging."
Crikey, he’s at it again. He’s 15. I think we might be seeing a very special talent emerging. https://t.co/10QVTGArk6January 20, 2022
The Brazilian eventually led Palmeiras to their first-ever title in the competition, being named Player of the Tournament after scoring seven goals in seven games at the age of 15.
When asked by FourFourTwo whether he even knows who Gary Lineker is, Endrick confirms he has. Even if he hadn't known, Endrick certainly could have been forgiven, especially considering he was born in 2006.
“I knew him from video games,” Endrick tells FFT.
“I was surprised at the beginning, when I saw the name. At first, I thought he could be any Lineker [there is a famous trans singer in Brazil called Liniker]. Then I realised that it was Gary; that’s when I got shocked. He was a very good player.”
Endrick certainly appreciates all of the attention he is getting, though,
“It’s really cool, [to be spotted by] these guys who were also centre-forwards, in fact, forwards in any respect like Gary or Ronaldo, who speaks about me, too.”
In October 2022, at 16 years, two months and 16 days of age, Endrick became the youngest player ever to appear for Palmeiras. In July 2024 he is due to join Real Madrid, after agreeing a deal with the Spanish side at the end of last year.
In the meantime, though, he says he doesn't want to grow too tall, telling FFT it might make him lose his impressive attributes.
“I don’t want to get too tall,” he said.
“I always say that because I don’t want to lose my agility or my balance, as I have a bit of both, and I want to be a player who wins balls in the air. But you don’t have to be tall to be a player.
"What is needed is intelligence, so I need to work on my head. How much I’m still going to grow, it won’t matter to me.”
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