A graduate of theSantos academy, Gabriel made his professional debut at the age of 16 and made over 200 appearances for the club across all competitions. Playing for Flamengo since 2019, he quickly became a fan favourite after scoring twice in the dying minutes of the2019 Copa Libertadores final, and then scoring the only goal of the2022 final. After six seasons with Flamengo, he joined fellow Brazilian club Cruzeiro.
Born inSão Bernardo do Campo,São Paulo, Gabriel joinedSantos's youth setup in 2004, at the age of 8;[2] his prolific goalscoring with the club's youth sides saw him earn the nicknameGabigol.[3] On 25 September 2012, he signed a professional contract, with a €50 million buyout clause,[4] and made his first team debut on 17 January of the following year, in afriendly match againstGrêmio Barueri.[5]
On 26 May 2013, Gabriel made his league debut, at only 16 years old, in a 0–0 draw againstFlamengo.[6] He scored his first professional goal on 22 August, netting the game's only goal in a home success againstGrêmio, forthe year'sCopa do Brasil.
On 1 February 2014, Gabriel scored a brace and Santos' 12,000th goal in a 5–1 victory againstBotafogo-SP, forthat year'sCampeonato Paulista championship.[7] He finished the tournament with seven goals, asPeixe finished second.
Gabriel netted his first Série A goal on 20 April 2014, scoring his side's only in a 1–1 home draw againstSport Recife.[8] He signed a new five-year deal with the club on 23 September,[9] and finishedthe season with 21 goals, ten ahead of high-spendingLeandro Damião.
After starting the2015 campaign on the bench, Gabriel was appointed as first-choice after the departure ofRobinho. He scored ten goals in the year'sBrasileirão, and was the top scorer inCopa do Brasil with eight goals, with highlights including braces againstSport Recife,Joinville andAtlético Mineiro, and the winner inthe first leg of the national cup's final againstPalmeiras. His impressive form for the season with Santos also saw him named by Spanish sport magazineDon Balón as one of 101 best young talents in world football in 2015[10]
Gabriel started the2016 season with two consecutive goals, againstSão Bernardo andPonte Preta. On 24 April he scored a double in a 2–2 home draw against Palmeiras (3–2 win onpenalties), as his side reached the finals of thePaulistão for the eight consecutive time.[11]
On 27 August 2016, after being warmly welcomed by Inter Milan fans when he landed in Milan the day before, Gabriel signed forInter Milan on a five-year contract in a deal reportedly worth €29.5m.[12]
On 22 September 2016, the club officially introduced Gabigol as an Inter player in the auditorium Pirelli with a media show: the striker entered the press room after a video showing him below thestatue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and then on Milan rooftops, clearly evoking the spot Inter had realized to introduceIl FenomenoRonaldo in the past.[13]
Gabigol made his first appearance on 25 September 2016, subbingCandreva in the 73rd minute.[14] He scored his first goal for Inter on 19 February after coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away victory againstBologna.[15]
On 25 January 2018, Gabriel's former club Santos announced that they had reached an agreement with Inter for his return to the club on a one-year loan deal.[20] He made his re-debut for the club on 11 February, starting and scoring his team's second in a 2–2 away draw againstFerroviária.
On 23 November 2019, Gabriel scored two late goals in the2019 Copa Libertadores Final, in a 2–1 win overRiver Plate, when he was also sent off in the game, and became the top scorer of the competition with nine goals.[31] Less than 24 hours later, Flamengo became champions of theCampeonato Brasileiro, with Gabriel having scored 25 league goals in the championship and becoming the first player sinceTúlio Maravilha in1995 to be the nation's top goalscorer in two consecutive years; he also became the top goalscorer of theBrasileirão in the double round-robin-era, established in 2003.
Flamengo's supporters quickly adopted Gabriel as one of their favourite players and chanted the sloganHoje tem gol do Gabigol (today Gabigol will score) frequently in the stadiums.[32] He was awarded with theBola de Ouro award for his efforts in Brazil[33] and was crownedSouth American Footballer of the Year by Uruguayan newspaperEl País.[34]
On 27 January 2020,Flamengo announced that the club agreed on a permanent transfer and Gabriel signed a contract with the club until December 2024 with a deal reportedly worth €17.5m.[35]
On 4 September 2022, Gabriel became the youngest player to reach 100 goals in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série A.[36] On this date, Flamengo andCeará drew 1–1, atMaracanã, in the 25th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro.
On 1 July 2023, Flamengo won a Campeonato Brasileiro Série A match againstFortaleza at home 2–0, with Gabriel scoring the first goal of the evening and reaching the mark of 150 total goals for Flamengo, becoming the ninth player in club's history to achieve this number.[37]
On 24 March 2024, the Brazilian Doping Control Authority voted to suspend Gabriel for two years for attempted anti-doping fraud, after he was accused of making it difficult to carry out an anti-doping test before a Flamengo game in the Rio De Janeiro state league. The anti-doping body added that the ban would count from the date of the violation which occurred on 8 April 2023. Gabriel issued a statement denying the allegations stating he has "never tried to obstruct or defraud any test" and that he plans to appeal the decision with theCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Flamengo said in a separate statement that they were surprised by the verdict and would support the player with his appeal "because there was no type of fraud".[38][39] On 30 April 2024, CAS stayed the execution of the ban and cleared Gabriel to play, pending an appeal hearing and conclusion of the arbitration.[40][41]
On 5 May 2016, Gabriel was called up by managerDunga to participate in theCopa América Centenario to be held in the United States, describing the call-up as a "dream".[53][54] He made his full international debut on 29 May, replacing goalscorerJonas and scoring the last in a 2–0 friendly win overPanama.
On 20 September 2019, Gabriel was called up by managerTite for a pair of friendlies againstSenegal andNigeria played in Singapore.[55] Gabriel was the top goalscorer of the Campeonato Brasileiro with first-place Flamengo at the time. He came on in substitute forRoberto Firmino against Nigeria.
In June 2021, he was included in Brazil's squad for the2021 Copa América on home soil.[57] On 13 June, in Brazil's opening group match of the tournament, he scored the final goal in a 3–0 win overVenezuela.[58] On 10 July, he made a substitute appearance in his nation's 1–0 defeat to rivalsArgentina in thefinal.[59]
Considered to be a talented prospect, Gabriel is known for his technical skills, creativity and use of tricks on the ball; due to his flair and flamboyant playing style, he was dubbed the "nextNeymar" by the media in 2016.[3][60][61]
During his time withSantos andFlamengo, Gabriel's role on the pitch has evolved; originally asupporting forward capable of playing with his back to goal oron the wing, he transformed into a full-onstriker with the main task of finding space inside the opponent's penalty box and poaching goals. Besides his goalscoring and positioning in attack, his physique also improved, leading him to start winning more aerial duels.[62][63]
Due to recent changes in his style of play, he has been compared toMauro Icardi, his former teammate atInter Milan.[64]
A controversial figure, he struggled to make the grade in Europe. South American football expert Tim Vickery was damning with his verdict: “He’s 25 already, he had one go already in Europe with Inter Milan and Benfica, and it was an absolute disaster. People spoke very badly of him, if he was chocolate he would eat himself, he swanned around like he was Pretty Boy Floyd."[65]
^abBlair Newman; Luca Hodges-Ramon; Richard Hall; Franco Ficetola; Mark Neale; Emmet Gates (24 January 2017)."The 50 best young footballers in Italy".The Guardian. Retrieved15 February 2017.
^Garcia, Filipa Fernandes (31 August 2017)."Gabigol no Benfica por uma temporada" [Gabigol at Benfica for one season].S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). Retrieved31 August 2017.
1 AsHors concours 2Placar started to give this prize to the best grade holder atBola de Prata since 1973. In its 2013 ceremonies, a Bola de Ouro was given to Dirceu Lopes, holder of the best 1971 grade.Francisco Reyes andElías Figueroa, holders of 1970 and 1972 ones respectively, have not been announced as these years' winners yet.
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Panama
Haiti
Venezuela
Uruguay
