Wataru Endō (遠藤 航, Endō Wataru, born 9 February 1993) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Japan national team.
Endō began his professional career with Shonan Bellmare. After being relegated in 2013, he would help Shonan regain promotion back to the J1 League, scoring seven goals in 38 league matches as they won the 2014 J.League Division 2 title. His form continued into the following season, where he scored four goals in 31 league matches and helped his side to a comfortable 8th-placed finish.
Endō made his debut for the Japan national team in 2015, and has since made over 60 appearances for the national team, including in two FIFA World Cups and two AFC Asian Cups. He captained Japan for the first time in June 2023.
On 23 July 2015, Japan's coach Vahid Halilhodžić called Endō up to the squad for the upcoming 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup. On 2 August 2015, he made his international debut in the opening game of the competition in a 2–1 defeat to North Korea. He was named in Japan's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, although he did not play in any of their matches.
Endō began his career at J1 League club Shonan Bellmare before moving to Urawa Red Diamonds in 2016, where he won the league title and the 2017 AFC Champions League. In 2018, he joined Sint-Truiden of the Belgian Pro League, before being loaned to Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart in 2019. He signed permanently with Stuttgart in April 2020, captaining them during his final season in Germany. Endō joined Liverpool in August 2023.
Endō joined Belgian Pro League outfit Sint-Truiden in 2018, playing one year at the club and scoring two goals.
On 13 August 2019, Endō was loaned out to German club VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season. In April 2020, Stuttgart signed Endō permanently. On 26 November 2020, Endō extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2024.
On 18 August 2023, Endō signed a four-year deal with Premier League club Liverpool for a fee of £16 million. He became just the second male Japanese footballer to play for the club after Takumi Minamino who joined the club in 2020. The following day, he made his Premier League and club debut against Bournemouth, coming on as a substitute in the 63rd minute. Endō was praised for his performance, only misplacing one pass. On 27 August, Endō made his first Liverpool and Premier League start in an away victory against Newcastle United. On 27 September, he made his first full Anfield appearance and contributed to Liverpool's victory in the third round of the EFL Cup against Leicester City, assisting Dominik Szoboszlai for the deciding goal. On 26 October 2023, Endō scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 5–1 win over Toulouse at Anfield in the UEFA Europa League.
On 25 February 2022, Endō scored Stuttgart's only goal in a 1–2 loss to 1899 Hoffenheim. He scored again in the club's 3–2 victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 14 May 2022, Endō got the winning goal in stoppage time of a 2–1 win over 1. FC Köln to save Stuttgart from the relegation play-offs and secure their place in the 2022–23 Bundesliga.
As of January 2024, Endō has scored three international goals. He was named captain of the national team in June 2023.
Endō's final appearance for Stuttgart was in a DFB-Pokal first round match against TSG Balingen on 12 August 2023, where he scored the fourth goal of a 4–0 win.
On 3 December 2023, Endō scored his first Premier League goal, an equaliser just four minutes after being substituted on, in a 4–3 victory over Fulham. Afterwards, he started the next seven fixtures as Liverpool achieved victories against Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Burnley. In recognition for his efforts, Endō was voted Liverpool's Player of the Month for December. He played the full 120 minutes of the 2024 EFL Cup final, in which Liverpool defeated Chelsea 1–0, earning Endō his first trophy with the club.
In January 2024, he was named for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final squads, and scored a late goal for Japan in the 2–1 loss against Iraq in their second group match.