Endrick believes "no-one deserves the Ballon d'Or more" than future Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior, as his compatriot gears up for Saturday's Champions League final. (More Football News)
Viniciuඣs, who scored the winning goal against Liverpool in the 2022 showpiece, is eyeing his second European triumph with Los Blancos, who tak♉e on Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
The 23-year-old has had the most direct goal involvements in the Champꦿions League since the start of the 2021-22 season (31 - 16 goals, 15 assists), while his tally of 17 in the knockout stages is also the most during that span.
Vinicius and Endrick will soon become team-mates at club level, with the teenage sensation set to join Madrid from Palmeir❀as on his 18th birthday in July.
Before that, the pair wi🌳ll be focused on leading Brazil's charge at the Copa America, where Endrick believes Selecao success will only aid Vinicius' chances of landing football's♒ most coveted individual accolade.
"Vini is a reference. A star," the 17-year-old said. "No one d💟eserves the Ballon D'Or more than him this year. I think our group at the Copa America will be looking not only at winning the title, but also helping him to win this award."
Endrick was speaking ahead of his final game for Palmeiras, whose supporters' reception moved him to tears during the Copa Libertadores clash 🍰with San Lorenzo.
Brazil's youngest international since P💝ele in 1957 - and their youngest scorer following his strike against England in March - the forward will꧅ watch Madrid for the final time "as a fan" on Saturday.
And he has been keeping close tabs on his new team-mates, while absorbing as much information as possible before linking up with them after the Copa America.
"Real have to win on Saturday. I have be♋en so focused on my farewell game [with Palmeiras] that I didn't even real🌌ise it [was Madrid's last game without me]," he added.
"I🐻 watch a lot of games, but not always live, because it's not possible due to our sch🦹edule. I end up studying the team more than cheering. I often already know the result when I'm watching.
"Watching a game is different for us players who train and travel all the time.🔯 We look at other things; pay 🧸more attention to some elements than others. That's why I like to watch without any fuss."
