Perhaps he doesn’t know how he does it, but he does it effortlessly nonetheless: everything he touches turns to gold.
Meet Real Madrid’s very own Midas—or at least, an aspiring one. His name is Endrick, but in the locker room, he’s affectionately known as Bobby. This nickname stems from a recent interview where he claimed his childhood idols were Cristiano Ronaldo and Bobby Charlton, despite Charlton having retired 31 years before Endrick was born. Something doesn’t quite add up. And the jokes, ever since, have been relentless—courtesy of his teammates. The goals, though, are all his. They seem to fall from his pockets. It’s a gift.
With his brace against Celta, he now boasts an average of a goal every 72 minutes. But that’s not all. It’s the third-best scoring rate in Europe.
Endrick, the vanishing star
Endrick seems to vanish from view. Since the Montilivi match, manager Carlo Ancelotti has only given him 12 minutes on the pitch, not counting the Deportivo Minera game. In between, there have been two finals and shows like the Bergamo friendly. Everyone has watched him from the sidelines, watching time pass by, life move on, and listening to disheartening arguments.
“There’s a lot of talk about Endrick, saying he’s played little, that I’m not giving him minutes… blah blah blah, but you have to consider he’s very young, needs to adapt, improve, learn, and playing him when the team isn’t performing well can be counterproductive. Instead of helping him, it could hurt him. I have to think about all these things,” Carlo Ancelotti stated in December.
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Touched by a magic wand
A month later, Endrick shattered that theory. Against Celta, despite the team leading 2-0, he faced one of those precarious moments. With the team hurt and teetering on the edge, the tension was palpable. Instead of shrinking away, he stepped up. He delivered a stunning left-footed strike for the 3-2 equalizer, assisted perfectly by Moriba, and followed up with a backheel in injury time to seal the 5-2 victory. Quick and decisive. “In neither of those moments was I looking at the goal,” he said in the mixed zone. And that’s the summary: a player with an angel’s touch. Maybe he doesn’t even know how he does it, or maybe he does; but he does. The ball finds the net.
Invisible yet impactful
He’s now scored four times this season. With his recent brace, he’s made a significant leap in his Valdebebas career, becoming the team’s sixth top scorer, following the likes of the Fantastic Four and under the wings of the Falcon. A whole new dimension. But the merit isn’t so much that he’s there, but that he’s there with so little playing time. Endrick has only accumulated 291 minutes this season, 90 of which were against Deportivo Minera and 41 against Celta. Excluding the Copa, he’s played just 160 minutes this season over 32 matches. In LaLiga, he doesn’t even make it to a full match: 82 minutes. And in the Champions League, even less: 78 minutes. Endrick is a residual figure at Real Madrid. It’s the reality. From the first team, only Vallejo has played less (10 minutes). But this is precisely his strength.
-Bronze in Europe
With this outlook, he adds a remarkable statistic. As I’ve said, his average is spectacular: scoring every 72 minutes. To put that into perspective, Mbappé scores every 147 minutes and Vinicius every 140 minutes. It’s astounding. A reflection of a footballer who barely plays; but when he does and touches the ball, things happen. An aura of talent. Endrick holds the third-best scoring average in all of Europe, only surpassed by Patrik Schick (67 minutes, Bayer Leverkusen) and Keke Topp (62 minutes, Werder Bremen). This study, conducted by Opta, considered players who have scored at least four goals.
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Of tears…
Endrick, who also shed blood against Valladolid (his official debut) and Stuttgart (his Champions League debut), is a boy with an aura. The one who cried with emotion during his presentation. “As a kid, I dreamed of playing for Real Madrid… and I’m going to do it,” he said with a shaky voice, before 45,000 people on his sixth day of legal adulthood. That’s how his story began. And that’s how it’s unfolding now.
Months of intense psychological work. Not understanding why he barely played, but not giving up. “Rüdiger tells me to keep working hard, even if I’m not playing,” he admitted after the match. “Ancelotti knows he doesn’t have to look for the best for Endrick, but for the team,” he added.
…to sweat
His relationship with the coach is cool. But professional. “I don’t talk much with the manager, but on the first day, he already told me that the most important thing here is to work… and he knows I’m doing it every day. I’m grateful because he’s been a great person for me,” he concluded. And he left the Bernabéu with a serious face, as is his nature. But inside, he embodies the belief that, as Hannibal from the A-Team would say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
The third forward with the best scoring average in Europe has opened the door. The protagonist of a case worthy of study. The hero of the Copa. The one who scores every 72 minutes, despite everything. Maybe he doesn’t know how he does it, but he turns everything he touches into gold. Endrick is scoring goals by the hour. Introducing Real Madrid’s very own Midas. Bobby.
