Real has new number 9 and it's not Endrick

Wearing the number nine shirt at Real Madrid is no simple matter — especially when you consider that it has been worn by Karim Benzema, Ronaldo “El Fenomeno,” Fernando Morientes, Davor Suker, Ivan Zamorano, Emilio Butragueno, Hugo Sanchez, and many others. If you added up all their goals, you’d end up with a number in the thousands. Now, imagine you’re a homegrown player, you grew up next to the Santiago Bernabeu, and someone comes to you and says: “You’re our new number nine.” That’s exactly what happened to Gonzalo García. The young striker played brilliantly at the FIFA Club World Cup and impressed Xabi Alonso. The club decided to reward him with a new contract until 2030, according to Spanish media.

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Real Madrid hasn’t been this generous to academy products in the past. Many never got a chance, some dominated at youth level only to disappear quickly from the scene, but cases like García’s are rare. On top of that, the young forward’s release clause was significantly increased — from 50,000,000 euros to a staggering one billion euros. Of course, as in any big club, there’s no shortage of egos. When he found out that García would be wearing the number nine shirt, Endrick sulked. The Brazilian had expected it to go to him and hoped he would finally have the chance to show his undeniable talent. Instead, he now becomes the third-choice striker in the hierarchy, and his frustration was clear when he flatly refused a loan move to Real Sociedad.

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For now, he’ll have to warm the bench again. On top of that, Xabi Alonso hasn’t had a chance to see him play yet because the Brazilian has been recovering from an injury. García stepped in during the Club World Cup, scoring four goals in six matches and adding one assist. He was especially impressive for Castilla, where he scored 25 goals in 36 matches last season. Comparisons to Raul have already begun, and the legendary striker has even had the chance to coach García. Carlo Ancelotti has been gradually introducing him to the first team, and he nearly scored in the last El Clasico. He’ll have the chance to make up for that miss this season — and in many more to come.