Endrick's father reveals why Corinthians rejected him for academy | OneFootball

Striker Endrick, 19, now at Real Madrid in Spain and developed in Palmeiras’ youth academy, as well as being one of the standout names of the Brazilian National Team, came close to playing for Corinthians’ youth teams in 2016. In an interview with Canal Bra, the youngster’s father, Douglas Sousa, revealed that, at the time, a scout from Alvinegro had recommended recruiting the boy after he had stood out in an international tournament at just ten years of age.

However, on that occasion, Corinthians backed off and did not want to bring Endrick into their academy because of the costs of moving the player and his family from Brasília, his hometown, to São Paulo: “It wasn’t just São Paulo (that missed the chance to sign him). São Paulo, Corinthians, Santos and other clubs. This happened at the 2016 Go Cup. My son played for BFA/São Paulo (a team from Brasília). Endrick was one of the standouts of the competition. And there was a Corinthians scout who, after we moved to Palmeiras in 2017, went to work at Palmeiras. He told me this story.”

Photo: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

The 2016 edition of the Go Cup had more than 1,700 children between the ages of 7 and 12, representing 12 countries across five continents. At the time, after standing out in the tournament, Palmeiras was the club that brought the player into its youth ranks, in addition to providing financial support for his family and offering a job opportunity to his father, Douglas Sousa.

“At the time, he made a scout report on Endrick, went to the Corinthians staff and said: ‘There’s a boy like this, special. I think he’s worth the investment, and you could try to figure out how to bring the family to São Paulo.’ Then he told me the Corinthians staff replied that it would be unfeasible to bring the family from Brasília to São Paulo, because it would be Endrick, me and my ex-wife. So it would be unfeasible to bring the family from Brasília to São Paulo,” he revealed.

At that time, Corinthians was presided over by Roberto de Andrade, and the youth academy directors were José Onofre de Souza Almeida and Fausto Bittar Filho. At Palmeiras, Endrick became the club’s top youth prospect and, at just 16 years old, was promoted to the Alviverde first team. His first opportunities came at the end of 2022, but he reached his peak the following year, playing a decisive role in Barra Funda’s 2023 Brasileirão title win.

He was also a regular in Brazil’s youth national team call-ups. For Alviverde, he recorded 21 goals and eight assists in 82 matches. In mid-2024, he was sold to Real Madrid of Spain for 72 million euros, around R$409 million at the time.

With strong competition in the Merengue squad, he ended up being loaned to Lyon of France midway through last season in order to get minutes and earn a call-up for Brazil at the World Cup. In France, he posted eight goals and seven assists in 21 matches. For 2026/2027, Endrick will be reintegrated into the Madrid squad.

His standout performances for the French side earned the player a call-up for the 2026 World Cup, fulfilling his goal of getting opportunities at Lyon. On the afternoon of last Saturday (6), he even scored the goal that gave Brazil a 2–1 win in the friendly against Egypt. Wearing the No. 19 shirt, he came off the bench and decided the match in favor of the Seleção.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.