Chelsea pulled out of signing Brazil starlet Endrick at the last minute because Todd Boehly did not want to shell out £51.4million for him, it has emerged.
The Blues had agreed a deal after bringing Endrick, then 16, to tour Stamford Bridge and their Cobham training ground and see some senior players in November 2022.
However, Endrick’s father told the Guardian that Boehly backed out of the transfer at the last minute because he did not want to ‘inflate the market’.
The next month, Real Madrid announced that they had signed the wonderkid for £51m. He will join Los Blancos in the summer because under current rules, he cannot leave Brazilian side Palmeiras for a European club until he is 18.
‘I was very close [to joining Chelsea]. My parents really liked London and everyone speaks very highly of it,’ Endrick told the Guardian.
Chelsea pulled out of signing Brazilian prodigy Endrick last year because Todd Boehly did not want to ‘inflate the market’
Boehly brought Endrick to tour the club’s facilities in November 2022 but did not want to pay £51.4million for a player who could only join a couple of seasons later
Douglas Sousa, his father, added: ‘We received an invitation from Chelsea, from the owner, and we went there to see the club and the country.
‘They explained everything to us. They introduced us to the person who would help us settle in. She showed us the house we would live in, the school Endrick would go to, the church we would attend. Everything was right with us and Chelsea.
‘I can’t say 100% because I hadn’t signed, but the deal was agreed. I had already got it into my head that I would live in London with all that cold weather.
‘But then at night, my son’s manager phoned and said that the Chelsea owner had backed out of the deal because the price they would have to pay for Endrick would inflate the market.’
Endrick’s dad explained that they saw multiple senior players such as Cesar Azpilicueta and Brazilian duo Jorginho and Thiago Silva.
Despite a £1billion spending extravaganza, Boehly’s transfer dealings since taking over Chelsea in May 2022 have not hit the mark.
Only Cole Palmer scored a 7/10 or better in Mail Sport’s exhaustive ratings of each and every one of Boehly’s signings.
Whether he will live to regret signing Endrick is another matter, as there are no guarantees with highly touted ‘wonderkid’ frenzy-buys.
Endrick fired Palmeiras to a second consecutive Brazilian league title and was their top scorer
The player said he was ‘very close’ to joining the Blues after seeing the house, school, and church lined up for him
Endrick’s father, Douglas Sousa (right), said: ‘Everything was right with us and Chelsea’
However, the 17-year-old forward fired Palmeiras to a second consecutive Brazilian league title and was their top scorer with 11 goals this season.
Six Endrick goals in his the last eight games helped Palmeiras sling themselves to the top of the standings in a dramatic six-way Brazilian title chase, with sides falling over each other to reach the top.
Endrick was the first player under 18 in the Brazilian league to score ten or more in a Brazilian league season since Neymar in 2009, when he managed ten goals.
In November, he was rewarded with his first couple of Brazil caps.
