After presenting Kylian Mbappe as a new player earlier this month, Real Madrid are set to welcome the second signing of the summer to Santiago Bernabeu.
Endrick officially signed for Los Blancos close to 600 days ago and finally arrives in Madrid for his presentation later today. Needless to say, there is a lot of excitement over the player who is said to be one of football’s great young talents.
Ahead of his presentation, one naturally wonders what number the player will don at the club in the coming season and AS provide an update on the same.
A number with a past
The Spanish outlet relays that Endrick has made his final decision from the available options and has chosen to don the number 16 for his first season in Madrid. After all, it is not new to the player.
The Brazilian phenom, in fact, began his professional career wearing the number 16 with Palmeiras’ senior team and defended the kit for over a year.
Over the years, the number 16 shirt in Madrid has been donned by Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic, James Rodriguez and most recently Alvaro Odriozola.
Long before that club legends like Emilio Butragueno and Raul Gonzalez also wore the No. 16 shirt briefly.
The long-term plan
While Endrick will start his career under Carlo Ancelotti with the number 16, the club intend to give him a more important number in the years to come.
A second kit that the youngster has represented heavily over the years is the number 9, and that is likely to be his number at Real Madrid in the long run.
Currently, however, Kylian Mbappe endorses the striker’s kit and changes can be expected once Luka Modric steps away from the club. Once the Croatian legend departs, Mbappe will take the number 10 and Endrick could be handed the #9 shirt.