Real Madrid legend opens up on relationship with Vinicius Junior and reveals verdict on Endrick loan

Vinicius Jr was the main man at Madrid prior to the 2024 arrival of Kylian Mbappe. But ever since the Frenchman began leading Los Blancos' attack, the Brazilian's impact has diminished. This season, for instance, he has five goals and eight assists in 24 games, compared to Mbappe's 29 goals and five assists in as many matches. As a result, he has been linked with a big-money move to the Saudi Pro League amid some uncertainty over renewing his contract. Indeed, Al-Ittihad sporting director Ramon Planes can see the wideman leaving Santiago Bernabeu in the not-so-distant future.

"Yes, I see it as a possibility that players like Vinicius could be here in Saudi Arabia. I see an evolution of the championship and it is feasible to have players of the highest level and at their best here," he said. "The trend is already to incorporate players at a very good footballing age. It’s no longer just players in the last stage of their careers." 

Former German international Kroos played alongside Vinicius Jr at Madrid for six years and could not speak more highly of the ex-Flamengo ace. He remarked that Brazilians and Germans are very different culturally but they had a "great connection" both in and out of games.

He told Marca, "I’ve always liked them very much, from a very young age. At Real Madrid with Vinicius, Casemiro and [Eder] Militao I have always had a good relationship. They enjoy life very much, they have a very different life from the Germans. With Casemiro or Vini I got along perfectly. I had a great connection with Vinicius. I got along very well with him off the pitch as well. If you have a bad relationship off the pitch it’s difficult to have it on the pitch. I took advantage of Vinicius’ runs and he took advantage of my passes."

Last week, Lyon reached an agreement with Madrid to sign Endrick on loan for the rest of the season after making just four appearances in all competitions for Xabi Alonso's side. The 19-year-old, who will wear the number nine shirt at the French side - exclaimed in a Lyon social media post, "Christmas has come early!" after completing the switch. After breaking records in regards to the Ligue 1 team's social media accounts, Kroos has weighed in on the young Brazilian's decision to head to France for a short-term stint. The former Bayern Munich ace feels that a loan transfer could do Endrick good, and he himself benefitted from such a move to Bayer Leverkusen early on in his career.

He added, "For a player like Endrick, the most important thing is to play. If he doesn’t have the possibility to do it here, I think the best way is for him to go to another club, on loan, to play. I also went out on loan when I was young and it was very good for me."

Endrick will link up with the Lyon squad for training on Monday but he won't be able to make his debut for the French giants for a little longer. He has not been registered in time for their upcoming clash with AS Monaco on Saturday, but could line up against Lille on 11 January. Vinicius Jr, on the other hand, will hope to fire Madrid to victory on Sunday when they entertain Real Betis in La Liga action.