They were born within a year of each other – just before the explosion of the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi’ era in La Liga – and now teenage sensations Endrick and Lamine Yamal are poised to kickstart another rivalry for the ages.
Endrick turns 18 in July and has just scored his first two goals for Brazil – one in the Santiago Bernabeu and the other at Wembley. Lamal will turn 17 a week before Endrick’s birthday. He has only started 14 games for Barcelona and three for Spain but in record time he has become the most important player for club and country.
Endrick was born just before the 2006-2007 season, Lamal just after. Real Madrid won the league. 19-year-old Messi was already at Barcelona and scored 14 goals in all competitions but he was still two seasons away from his first Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo was still at Manchester United and would not arrive at Real Madrid until 2008.
Their historic rivalry will never be topped, but watching Spaniard Yamal and Brazilian Endrick going head to head at the Bernabeu was a throwback to Argentinian Messi up against Portuguese Ronaldo in the colours of their clubs. And it was a taste of things to come.
Endrick signed for Real Madrid in December 2022 when he was still 16-years-old from Palmeiras. The initial cost of 35m euros will rise to 60m if he is successful in Spain and no one doubts that he will be.
Teenage sensation Endrick scored two goals for Brazil during the international break
Fellow starlet Lamine Yamal has broken into Spain’s senior set-up at the tender age of 16
Both youngsters were born before the explosion of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s era
Real Madrid’s super scout in South America, Juni Calafat, has been in constant contact with the player since that signing. And over dinner in the player’s home it’s been explained to him many times exactly what signing for Real Madrid means. He’s ready.
He is not short of confidence. He announced during Brazil’s evening meal on the eve of the game this week that he felt he was going to score his first goal at the Bernabeu in the friendly the following night and so it turned out.
He is already able to physically match and even intimidate rival centre-backs. There’s an aggression there that saw him kick Marc Cucurella off the ball and that will have to be tamed but Madrid will not want to soften the hard edges too much.
He will need to retain a certain mean streak not just to see off his opponents but also the competition at home. There will be three places up for grabs in Real Madrid’s forward line next season and he is up against his international team-mate Rodrygo for the final place alongside Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe.
Endrick played Vinicius in with his first touch off the bench at the Bernabeu – don’t bet against him leapfrogging Rodrygo as their third man in Real Madrid’s new three-pronged attack.
Endrick scored the late winner against England at Wembley and will shortly join Real Madrid
Yamal is already Barcelona’s here and now but also represents the future of the LaLiga side
For Yamine there are no such problems regarding competition for places. He is Barcelona’s future but already he represents the here and now.
We are only five months on from his telling-off by Robert Lewandowski – how quickly that phase passed. Now it’s no less likely that we will see Yamine glaring across at Lewandowski for not giving him the ball.
‘This kid is incredible. Every time he touches the ball he hurts the opposition,’ said Spain defender Robin Le Normand after Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Brazil.
He has become Spain’s great hope in Germany this summer and he was asked in midweek on how he copes mentally with the fact that he has bypassed the under-19 and under-21 phase of his international career. ‘I try not to think about it too much because then you start to worry about things,’ he said.
At the moment he is letting others do the worrying. They need him so much in Barcelona that they do not want a Pedri-style burnout that most people point down to him playing over 70 games in his first season and being picked for both the Euros and the Olympics.
Yamal has become Spain’s great hope in Germany after bypassing the U-19 and U-21 teams
There is a fresh naivety around Endrick (above) and Yamal but both starlets are fearless
You could hear the rapid intake of air when Yamal was clattered inside the first minute against Brazil but he ran it off without further problems and there seem to be no doubts about his mental strength too. ‘I know the whole stadium is waiting to see what I can do,’ he has said of life at Barcelona.
There are reminders of how young he is. His cousin still drives him to training because he is too young to take his driving test.
And he attends classes every afternoon in La Masia because the club want him to set the example of young talents finishing their education. But once he is out on the pitch he displays a maturity beyond his years.
There is a fresh naivety about both Yamal and Endrick – the latter has spoken about wanting to win 10 Ligas and five Champions Leagues at Madrid no less. The former, when asked what goal he was desperate to score recently, replied: ‘The winner against PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals.’
The pair are fearless and they are ready to embark on a rivalry that will help guide the destiny of the two biggest clubs in Spain. Madrid and Barcelona meant Ronaldo and Messi for so long. Next season it will be Endrick against Yamine.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
