 Gabriel withBeşiktaş in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Armando de Abreu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-11-26)26 November 1990 (age 35)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Beşiktaş | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009 | Taboão da Serra | ||
| 2009–2010 | Vitória | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Vitória | 115 | (6) |
| 2013–2015 | Villarreal | 37 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Arsenal | 46 | (1) |
| 2017–2024 | Valencia | 182 | (8) |
| 2024 | Atlético Madrid | 5 | (0) |
| 2024– | Beşiktaş | 26 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Gabriel Armando de Abreu (born 26 November 1990), commonly known asGabriel Paulista (Brazilian Portuguese:[ɡabɾiˈewpawˈlistɐ]) or simplyGabriel, is a Brazilian professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back forSüper Lig clubBeşiktaş.
He began his career withVitória in 2010, winning twoCampeonato Baiano titles and finishing as runner-up in the2010 Copa do Brasil. He also spent a season-and-a-half in Spain's top flight withVillarreal before joiningArsenal in January 2015. Having won twoFA Cups, he moved toValencia in August 2017. He made over 200 appearances for Valencia, winning theCopa del Rey in2019.
Born inSão Paulo, Gabriel Paulista joinedVitória's youth setup in 2009 fromTaboão da Serra, after having failed trials atGrêmio Barueri andSantos.[3] He made his senior debut for the former on 7 March 2010, starting in a 3–1 win atCamaçari for theCampeonato Baiano championship,[4] his only appearance in a season in which Vitória won the state title. He made hisSérie A debut on 15 May,replacingVilson in a 1–1 home draw againstFlamengo.[5]
In August 2010, Gabriel Paulista appeared in both matches of2010 Copa do Brasil finals against Santos, but playing as aright back in a 3–2aggregate loss. On 5 December, in the last game of aleague season which saw his team relegated, Gabriel was sent off for a foul onAnaílson in a goalless home draw againstAtlético Goianiense.[6]
He made his first team breakthrough in late 2011, and went on to play a crucial role inthe following year, appearing in 35 matches asLeão returned to Série A. On 6 September 2012 Gabriel Paulista signed a contract extension with Vitória, until 2016.[7]
He was elected the best central defender of2013 Campeonato Baiano;[8] he opened in a 7–3 win at city rivalsBahia on 12 May, in the first leg of the final (8–4 aggregate).[9] On 25 May, in the opening game of the2013 season, he scored his only goal in the national league, putting Vitória 2–0 up after 12 minutes againstInternacional at theArena Fonte Nova, an eventual 2–2 draw.[10]
On 15 August 2013, Gabriel Paulista moved toLa Liga outfitVillarreal, signing a five-year deal with the club.[11] He made his debut in the competition on 10 November, starting in a 1–1 home draw againstAtlético Madrid.[12]
Gabriel Paulista featured in 18 league matches duringhis first season abroad, sharing terms withChechu Dorado, as the Yellow Submarine finished sixth and subsequently returned to a European competition. He made hisUEFA Europa League debut on 21 August 2014, starting in a 3–0 away win againstFC Astana.[13]
Profiting fromMateo Musacchio's injury, Gabriel Paulista also overtook Dorado and was made a starter in2014–15. He formed a strong partnership with new signingVíctor Ruiz, with his side conceding only 17 goals in the 19 league matches in which he appeared.
On 26 January 2015, Gabriel Paulista was granted a work permit by the UK government and expected to joinArsenal for a fee of around £11.3 million.[14] He signed for the club two days later, withJoel Campbell moving the other way on loan.[15] ManagerArsène Wenger stated that despite the player's fitness, Gabriel could make errors in his first matches due to not being able to speak English.[16]
Gabriel Paulista made his debut for Arsenal on 15 February, playing the entirety of a 2–0 home win overMiddlesbrough in the fifth round of theFA Cup.[17] He made hisPremier League debut six days later, coming on forAlexis Sánchez in the final minute of a 2–1 win away toCrystal Palace.[18]
Gabriel Paulista made his first full start in the Premier League in Arsenal's 2–0 home win overEverton on 1 March. He experienced a shaky start to the game but later executed a perfect sliding tackle on the goal-boundRomelu Lukaku, cleanly winning the ball.[19] He was an unused substitute on 30 May, as Arsenal won theFA Cup final 4–0 againstAston Villa atWembley Stadium.[20]
On 19 September 2015, Gabriel Paulista wassent off againstChelsea for a tussle withDiego Costa;Santi Cazorla was later dismissed as nine-man Arsenal lost 2–0.[21] Gabriel initially received a standard three-match suspension for violent conduct after receiving a direct red card, but the decision was later withdrawn after a "wrongful dismissal claim";[22] he was however banned for one match and fined £10,000 for improper conduct by not leaving the pitch immediately.[23]
On 28 December 2015, Gabriel headed inMesut Özil's corner kick to open a 2–0 win againstBournemouth; the result putThe Gunners top of the Premier League.[24]
On 18 August 2017, Gabriel Paulista returned to Spain to joinValencia on a five-year contract.[25] He made his debut on 9 September, in a 0–0 home draw againstAtlético Madrid.[26] On 20 January 2018, he was sent off for dissent in a 2–1 loss atUD Las Palmas, infuriating his managerMarcelino García Toral.[27]
Gabriel Paulista played five games asLos Che won the2018–19 Copa del Rey, including the2–1 final win over Barcelona on 25 May; it was their first honour for eleven years.[28] On 10 December 2019, he was sent off at the end of a 1–0 win atAjax in the last game of the Champions League group stage, for headbuttingDušan Tadić.[29]
In2020–21, Gabriel Paulista scored a career-best four goals in 31 games, starting with an equaliser in a 4–2 home win over city rivalsLevante in the opening game on 13 September 2020.[30] He signed a new contract to 2024, in January 2021.[31]
Owing to a muscular injury in his right leg, Gabriel Paulista was sidelined from 30 October 2021[32] until the following 26 February, when he needed just four minutes to score the only goal away toMallorca.[33] He played the full 120 minutes of the2022 Copa del Rey final on 23 April – being booked after five minutes for a foul onBorja Iglesias – as his team lost on penalties toReal Betis.[34]
On 31 January 2024, Gabriel Paulista joined fellow La Liga clubAtlético Madrid on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season.[35]
On 15 June 2024, Gabriel Paulista joinedSüper Lig clubBeşiktaş on a free transfer until 2027.[36]
On 20 March 2015, Gabriel Paulista was called up to theBrazil national team for the first time, replacing the injuredDavid Luiz for friendly matches againstFrance andChile.[37] However, he did not feature in either match.
On 9 December 2020, Gabriel Paulista obtained Spanish nationality through residence, and made himself available to represent theSpain national team.[38]
| Club | Season | League | State league[a] | National cup[b] | League cup[c] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vitória | 2010 | Série A | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2011 | Série B | 17 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 0 | ||||
| 2012 | 35 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 57 | 4 | |||||
| 2013 | Série A | 14 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 8[e] | 1 | 35 | 3 | |||
| Total | 77 | 1 | 38 | 5 | 10 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 141 | 7 | |||
| Villarreal | 2013–14 | La Liga | 18 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 19 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 8[f] | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 37 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||||
| Arsenal | 2014–15 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 21 | 1 | — | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[g] | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 46 | 1 | — | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 1 | |||
| Valencia | 2017–18 | La Liga | 30 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 0 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 30 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 11[h] | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 33 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 6[g] | 0 | 1[i] | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 31 | 4 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 4 | ||||||
| 2021–22 | 19 | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||||
| 2022–23 | 21 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | |||||
| 2023–24 | 18 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 182 | 8 | — | 20 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 220 | 8 | ||||
| Atlético Madrid | 2023–24 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Beşiktaş | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 20 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 6[f] | 0 | 1[j] | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6[k] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 372 | 11 | 38 | 5 | 45 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 519 | 17 | ||
Vitória
Arsenal
Valencia
Beşiktaş
Individual
