Jose Mourinho Blocks Liverpool as Endrick Fights for His Place at Real Madrid
Jose Mourinho has spent a career colliding with Liverpool. Chelsea. Manchester United. Tottenham. Different dugouts, same edge. Now at Real Madrid, he has once again stood between the Anfield hierarchy and a forward they admire.
This time, it is Endrick.
Endrick chooses to fight for his place
Despite Liverpool sounding out a possible move, the Brazil international is not entertaining an exit from the Bernabeu, according to ESPN. The enquiry from Merseyside came after Real wrapped up the signing of Yan Diomande, a deal that could have cost Liverpool close to £100million had he chosen Anfield instead.
Diomande, highly rated and heavily courted, opted for Madrid. The 20-year-old has since laid bare how influential Mourinho was in that decision.
“Mourinho got up at five in the morning to talk to me,” he told SportyTV, describing the personal touch that tipped the scales. When Real Madrid call, the choice tends to be simple. Diomande summed it up bluntly: “When Madrid calls you, you can't say no. So I said: ‘If they want me, that's where I'll be.’”
The knock-on effect was obvious: another attacking body in an already crowded Real front line. Yet Endrick, 19, has no intention of stepping aside. After a strong summer on the training pitch, he is determined to stay and fight.
Mourinho, for his part, sees a role for him. The Portuguese coach reportedly views Endrick as a flexible option across the front line and has pushed back against interest from elsewhere. Both player and manager are understood to have rejected approaches from Aston Villa and Roma in recent weeks.
Pre-season faith from Mourinho
Endrick’s stance is backed up by his minutes. After spending the second half of last season on loan at Lyon, he has been heavily involved in Mourinho’s first pre-season in charge.
He started and scored in his opening outing of the summer against Fiorentina, a timely reminder of what he offers in the final third. He then kept his place in the XI for friendlies against Deportivo La Coruna and Ferencvaros, though he sat out the most recent run-out.
That absence opened the door for Diomande’s first appearance in a Madrid shirt. The former RB Leipzig winger came off the bench for the final half-hour, replacing Brahim Diaz and offering a glimpse of why the club and Mourinho pushed so hard to sign him.
The Ivorian has wasted no time in nailing his colours to the Mourinho mast.
“As soon as I arrived, he told me: ‘I promised you that you were going to be part of my team, and here you are,’” Diomande revealed. “And I told him: ‘I'm happy to work with you because you are the best.’”
His admiration did not stop there. “I can learn a lot from him; he is the right coach to continue my development. I am prepared to die for him.”
For a young forward like Endrick, that kind of public backing for the coach only underlines the value of staying put and impressing the man in charge, rather than looking elsewhere for minutes.
Liverpool’s search moves on
With Endrick off the table and Diomande already in Madrid, Liverpool have been forced to look down a different list of names.
Their most concrete move came for Yankuba Minteh, but Brighton & Hove Albion knocked back a £50million bid for the winger. The Reds have also opened initial talks for Ibrahim Mbaye and Magnhes Akilouche, both viewed as emerging options.
Akilouche, though, is no longer a possibility. He has joined Mbaye at Paris Saint-Germain, a club Liverpool have been in dialogue with for weeks over Bradley Barcola. The France international has privately made it clear he wants to join Liverpool, but PSG are demanding £140million – a fee that would test even the most ambitious recruitment plan.
Liverpool’s scouting department has also flagged Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Said El Mala as potential targets earlier in the window. Yet Minteh remains the only player they have actually bid for so far.
So the picture is clear. Mourinho has his forwards where he wants them, with Endrick staying to compete and Diomande already pledging himself to the cause. Liverpool, shut out again by a familiar figure, are left scouring the market for the next name who can change their attack – and perhaps, this time, finally say yes.
