Endrick interview: "Xavi will bring many titles to Barça"

Endrick, the Palmeiras wonderkid, has a weakness for good football. In an interview with SPORT from his home in the west side of Sao Paulo, the youngster speaks maturely and consistently about his compatriots who have succeeded at Camp Nou in the past and the Barcelona being built by Xavi Hernandez.

Why do you think, for all Brazilian stars, where they played best in Europe was at Camp Nou?

Every situation is different. Romario and Ronaldo played only for a little time. Rivaldo was at his peak at Barca. Ronaldinho travelled the world after leaving Barcelona. Neymar has only played in two European clubs. For me the best was Neymar, at his best moment. He played really well in the MSN, which was a fantastic team.

One of the conclusions that I can take is that the MSN had a big impact on you.

Yes. Messi, Suarez, and Neymar were at a great level and Madrid had their attacking trio too, there was a great rivalry. It was very good to see the MSN because they were a happy trio, who left everyone happy. It was one of the best that I’ve seen play.

Neymar is the closest generationally to you, you could end up playing together for Brazil.

He’s a very good player. Any boy my age thinks one day of playing together with Neymar Junior, that’s still possible, but I imagine it in the distant future. If God wants, Brazil will get the sixth (World Cup) this year and Neymar will play at a great level. I think about playing with him but first I need to keep growing and progressing.

Superstars leave a mark, what’s yours?

Scoring goals. I want the people to see who Endrick is, I want them to believe in me and my potential. I am calm. I’ll show the world who Endrick is.

Barca have bet on a lot of young players, have you seen many games recently? 

I haven’t seen many because it’s been a crazy time at Palmeiras, but I have seen the games with the Spanish national team. Pedri in the Olympics, Gavi in the Nations League and Ferran Torres too, who is 21 if I’m not mistaken. Barcelona have a young team. They will get a lot of experience and will play at a top-level.

How do you interpret having an idol like Xavi as a coach?

I think that Xavi looks after the ball a lot, he looks after possession. He was coaching in Qatar and I think it will be very good for the club and he will give many titles to Barca.

When you see an attacking team, what do you focus on more, the forwards or on left-footed players like yourself?

I am detail orientated and a perfectionist, because I want to learn. I try to focus on all of the functions that each player brings, but of course, I look more at the centre-forward, to observe what movements they make and to be able to learn.