Gabriel Barbosa

Gabriel Barbosa Almeida (born 30 August 1996), commonly known as Gabriel Barbosa or simply as Gabigol or Gabi, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Brazil national team.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Barbosa and the second or paternal family name is Almeida.
Gabriel Barbosa
Gabriel at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full name Gabriel Barbosa Almeida
Date of birth (1996-08-30) 30 August 1996
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Flamengo
Number 9
Youth career
2004–2013 Santos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Santos 83 (24)
2016–2020 Inter Milan 9 (1)
2017–2018 → Benfica (loan) 1 (0)
2018 → Santos (loan) 35 (18)
2019 → Flamengo (loan) 29 (25)
2020– Flamengo 21 (11)
National team‡
2011 Brazil U15 4 (3)
2013 Brazil U17 5 (3)
2014–2015 Brazil U20 13 (4)
2015– Brazil U23 11 (8)
2016– Brazil 5 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2019

A graduate of the Santos academy, Gabriel made his professional debut at the age of 16 and made over 200 appearances for the club across all competitions.

Club career

Santos
Gabriel playing for Santos in 2018

Born in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Gabriel joined Santos FC's youth setup in 2004, aged 8;[1] his prolific goalscoring with the club's youth sides saw him earn the nickname Gabigol.[2] On 25 September 2012, he signed a professional contract, with a €50 million buyout clause,[3] and made his first team debut on 17 January of the following year, in a friendly match against Grêmio Barueri.[4]

On 26 May 2013, Gabriel made his league debut, at only 16 years old, in a 0–0 draw against Flamengo.[5] He scored his first professional goal on 22 August, netting the game's only goal in a home success against Grêmio, for the year's Copa do Brasil.

On 1 February 2014, Gabriel scored a brace and Santos' 12,000th goal in a 5–1 victory against Botafogo-SP, for that year's Campeonato Paulista championship.[6] He finished the tournament with seven goals, as Peixe finished second.

Gabriel netted his first Série A goal on 20 April 2014, scoring his side's only in a 1–1 home draw against Sport Recife.[7] He signed a new five-year deal with the club on 23 September,[8] and finished the season with 21 goals, ten ahead of high-spending Leandro Damião.

After starting the 2015 campaign on the bench, Gabriel was appointed as first-choice after the departure of Robinho. He scored ten goals in the year's Brasileirão, and was the top scorer in Copa do Brasil with eight goals, with highlights including braces against Sport Recife, Joinville and Atlético Mineiro, and the winner in the first leg of the national cup's final against Palmeiras. His impressive form for the season with Santos also saw him named by Spanish sport magazine Don Balón as one of 101 best young talents in world football in 2015[9]

Gabriel started the 2016 season with two consecutive goals, against São Bernardo and Ponte Preta. On 24 April he scored a double in a 2–2 home draw against Palmeiras (3–2 win on penalties), as his side reached the finals of the Paulistão for the eight consecutive time.[10]

Inter Milan

On 27 August 2016, Gabriel signed for Inter Milan on a five-year deal in a deal reportedly worth €29.5m.[11] He scored his first goal for Inter on 19 February after coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away victory against Bologna.[12]

Benfica (loan)

On 31 August 2017, Gabriel joined Portuguese club Benfica on a season-long loan deal.[13] He made his debut on 12 September in a UEFA Champions League match against CSKA Moscow, replacing Álex Grimaldo in the 77th minute.[14]

Gabriel made his Primeira Liga debut in a 2–1 loss at Boavista on 16 September 2017; he replaced Andrija Zivkovic, again in the 77th minute.[15] He left the club in January with just 165 minutes of playtime and one goal scored, against Olhanense for the Taça de Portugal.[16]

Return to Santos (loan)

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.[17] He made his re-debut for the club on 11 February, starting and scoring his team's second in a 2–2 away draw against Ferroviária.

Gabriel made his Copa Libertadores debut on 1 March 2018, starting in a 2–0 away loss against Real Garcilaso.[18] On 11 May, he scored a hat-trick – the first of his professional career – in a 5–1 home routing of Luverdense, for the year's national cup.[19]

On 1 September 2018, Gabriel scored all his team's goals in a 3–0 away win against Vasco da Gama.[20]

Flamengo (loan)
Gabriel playing for Flamengo

On 11 January 2019 Flamengo officially announced an agreement with Inter Milan to sign Gabriel on loan until 31 December 2019.[21][22]

Gabriel debuted for Flamengo on 23 January 2019 in a Campeonato Carioca 1–1 draw against Resende, he started the match and played all 90 minutes.[23] He scored his first goal for Flamengo on 24 February 2019 in a 4–1 win against Americano,[24] this was the first match of a six game streak scoring including goals in Copa Libertadores matches against San José[25] and LDU Quito[26] and a brace against Portuguesa (RJ) and Madureira in the Campeonato Carioca. Flamengo won the 2019 Campeonato Carioca with Gabriel scoring 7 goals in 12 matches, also being selected to the tournament team of the year.[27]

On 23 November 2019, Gabriel scored two late goals in the 2019 Copa Libertadores Final, in a 2–1 win over River Plate, when he was also sent off in the game, and became the top scorer of the competition with nine goals.[28] Less than 24 hours later, Flamengo became champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro, with Gabriel having scored 25 league goals in the championship and becoming the first player since Túlio Maravilha in 1995 to be the nation's top goalscorer in two consecutive years; he also became the top goalscorer of the Brasileirão in the double round-robin-era, established in 2003.

Flamengo's supporters quickly adopted Gabriel as one of their favourite players and chanted the slogan Hoje tem gol do Gabigol (today Gabigol will score) frequently in the stadiums.[29] He was awarded with the Bola de Ouro award for his efforts in Brazil[30] and was crowned South American Footballer of the Year by Uruguayan newspaper El País.[31]

Flamengo

On 27 January 2020 Flamengo announced that the clubs agreed on a permanent transfer and Gabriel signed a contract with the club until December 2024 with a deal reportedly worth €18.5m [32]

International career
Gabriel in 2016

Youth

In November 2011, Gabriel was called up to Brazil under-15s.[33] On 20 June 2013, he appeared with the under-17s in a tournament in Miami.[34]

On 22 July 2014 Gabriel was called up to the under-20s for the year's L'Alcúdia International Football Tournament.[35] He was the competition's top scorer,[36] but missed the final 2–0 win over Levante UD due to a dismissal in the previous game against Argentina.[37]

Gabriel was also included in Alexandre Gallo's 23-man squad for the 2015 South American Youth Championship held in Uruguay.[38] He scored his first goal in the competition on 20 January 2015, netting the last in a 2–0 win against Venezuela.[39]

In 2015, Gabriel was also called up for friendlies with the under-23 side, scoring six goals in only four matches. He was also part of the host team that won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics under manager Rogério Micale.[40][41][42]

Gabriel scored a brace for Brazil in their final group game against Denmark in an eventual 4–0 win.

Senior

On 26 March 2016, Gabriel received his first call up to the full squad, replacing suspended Neymar for a 2018 World Cup Qualifier against Paraguay.[43] However, he was only an unused substitute in the 2–2 draw at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción.

On 5 May 2016, Gabriel was called up by manager Dunga to participate in the Copa América Centenario to be held in the United States, describing the call-up as a "dream".[44][45] He made his full international debut on 29 May, replacing goalscorer Jonas and scoring the last in a 2–0 friendly win over Panama.

On 20 September 2019, Gabriel was called up by manager Tite for a pair of friendlies against Senegal and Nigeria played in Singapore.[46] Gabriel was the top goalscorer of the Campeonato Brasileiro with first-place Flamengo at the time. He came on in substitute for Roberto Firmino against Nigeria.

On 6 March 2020, Gabriel was again called by Tite for the first two matches of 2022 World Cup Qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru.[47] He was called up along with the other members of Flamengo's attacking trio, Bruno Henrique and Éverton Ribeiro.

Playing style

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 "next Neymar" by the media in 2016.[2][48][49]

During his time with Santos and Flamengo, Gabriel's role on the pitch has evolved; originally a supporting forward capable of playing with his back to goal or on the wing, he transformed into a full-on striker with the main task of finding space inside the opponent's penalty box and poaching goals. Besides positioning in attack, his physique also improved, leading him to start winning more aerial duels.[50][51]

Due to recent changes in his style of play, he has been compared to Mauro Icardi, his former teammate at Internazionale.[52]

Career statistics

Club
As of 04 February 2021.[53]
Club Season League State League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Santos 2013 Série A 1110021——132
2014 Série A 31818[lower-alpha 1]776——5621
2015 Série A 301012[lower-alpha 1]3148——5621
2016 Série A 11517[lower-alpha 1]710——2912
Total 832447172415000015456
Inter Milan 2016–17 Serie A 91—1000—101
Benfica (loan) 2017–18 Primeira Liga 10—002[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]040
Santos (loan) 2018 Série A 35188[lower-alpha 1]4347[lower-alpha 4]1—5327
Flamengo (loan) 2019 Série A 292512[lower-alpha 5]74212[lower-alpha 4]92[lower-alpha 6]05943
Flamengo 2020 Série A 211110[lower-alpha 5]8115[lower-alpha 4]22[lower-alpha 7]23924
Total 50362215531711429867
Career total 1787977363322261252319151
  1. Appearances in Campeonato Paulista.
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League.
  3. Appearance in Taça da Liga.
  4. Appearances in Copa Libertadores.
  5. Appearances in Campeonato Carioca.
  6. Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup.
  7. One appearance and one goal in Supercopa do Brasil, one appearance and one goal in Recopa Sudamericana.

International
As of 13 October 2019.
Brazil
YearAppsGoals
201642
201910
Total52

International goals
Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first:
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.29 May 2016Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, United States Panama
2–0
2–0
Friendly
2.8 June 2016Camping World Stadium, Orlando, United States Haiti
4–0
7–1
Copa América Centenario

Honours
Gabriel displaying his Olympic Gold Medal

Club

Santos

Flamengo

International

Brazil

Individual

References
  1. "Aos 16 anos Gabigol vale R$ 131 milhões e é a maior promessa do Santos" [With 16 years old, Gabigol worths R$ 131 millions and is Santos's wonderkid]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  2. Blair Newman; Luca Hodges-Ramon; Richard Hall; Franco Ficetola; Mark Neale; Emmet Gates (24 January 2017). "The 50 best young footballers in Italy". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. "Santos assina com Gabriel, de 16 anos, e estipula multa de R$ 130 milhões" [Santos signs with Gabriel, 16 years old, and puts a R$ 130 million buyout clause]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). 29 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  4. "Muricy promove estreia de Gabigol, mas pede calma com promessa" [Muricy promotes Gabigol's debut, but ask for calmness for wonderkid]. Gazeta Esportiva (in Portuguese). 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. "Neymar chora, mas não brilha, e Santos empata em 0 a 0 com o Fla" [Neymar cries, but does not shine, and Santos draws by 0–0 with Fla]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 26 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  6. "Santos dá novo show na Vila, goleia Botafogo e passa de 12 mil gols" [Santos puts on a show in Vila again, thrashes Botafogo and surpasses 12 thousand goals]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  7. "Santos empata em lance polêmico com Sport na Vila Belmiro: 1 a 1" [Santos draws in a controversial play with Sport at Vila Belmiro: 1–1]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 20 April 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  8. "Gabriel renova com o Santos FC até setembro de 2019" [Gabriel renews with Santos until September 2019] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  9. "La lista dei 101 migliori giovani talenti del calcio mondiale". EuroSport (in Italian). 29 November 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  10. "Palmeiras reage no fim, mas Vanderlei brilha nos pênaltis e coloca o Santos na final" [Palmeiras react in the end, but Vanderlei shines and puts Santos in the final]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 24 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  11. "Gabriel Barbosa snubs Manchester United and Chelsea to join Inter Milan". Metro. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  12. Edoardo Dalmonte (20 February 2017). "Gabriel 'Gabigol' Barbosa takes his chance with winner for Inter at Bologna". ESPN FC. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  13. Garcia, Filipa Fernandes (31 August 2017). "Gabigol no Benfica por uma temporada" [Gabigol at Benfica for one season]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  14. "Benfica vs. CSKA Moskva - 12 September 2017". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  15. "Boavista vs. Benfica - 16 September 2017". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
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  17. André Mendes (25 January 2018). ""Menino da Vila, santista e cruel", Gabriel está de volta ao Santos FC" ["Menino da Vila, santista e cruel", Gabriel is back at Santos FC] (in Portuguese). Santos FC. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  18. "Na altitude de Cusco, Santos estreia com derrota para o Real Garcilaso" [In Cusco's altitude, Santos debut with defeat to Real Garcilaso]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 1 March 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. "Santos leva susto, mas Gabigol brilha e comanda goleada contra o Luverdense" [Santos got a scare, but Gabigol shines and commands routing against Luverdense]. UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 10 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  20. "Gabriel Barbosa nets hat-trick as Santos continue recovery" (in Portuguese). Xinhua News Agency. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  21. "Gabriel Barbosa é apresentado no Ninho do Urubu: "Realização de um sonho"". Flamengo.com.br (in Portuguese). 11 January 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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  23. "Dourado ceifa de bicicleta, Vitinho troca vaias por aplausos, mas Flamengo empata em noite de estreias". globoesporte.com. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  24. "Gabigol desencanta em dia de Vitinho, e Flamengo goleia Americano sem sustos". globoesporte.com. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  25. "Flamengo bate San Jose por 1x0 em estreia na Libertadores". correio24horas.com.br. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  26. "Flamengo comete dois pênaltis, mas domina LDU, vence e se isola na liderança do Grupo D da Libertadores". globoesporte.com. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
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  29. Resende, Igor (9 December 2019). "Bola de Prata: Gabigol supera Zico no Flamengo, quebra recordes e consegue feito inédito como artilheiro pela 2ª vez seguida". espn.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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  33. Gabriel Barbosa e Marcel Furtado embarcam com Seleção Brasileira Sub-15 para disputa de torneio nos Estados Unidos (Gabriel Barbosa and Marcel Furtado travel with Brazil under-15s for a tournament in United States); Santos FC, 24 November 2011 (in Portuguese)
  34. "Agora no profissional, Gabriel é chamado para Seleção Brasileira Sub-17 para disputa de torneio nos Estados Unidos" [Now in first team, Gabriel is called up to Brazil U-17 for a tournament in United States] (in Portuguese). Santos FC. 20 June 2013.
  35. "Gabriel é convocado para a seleção brasileira sub-20" [Gabriel is called up to Brazil under-20's] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  36. "Gabriel é campeão com a seleção brasileira sub-20" [Gabriel is crowned champion with Brazil under-20's] (in Portuguese). Santos' official website. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  37. "Fora de final com a Seleção sub-20, Gabigol se trata para voltar no San-São" [Out of final with Seleção under-20, Gabigol treats himself to be back in San-São]. Diário Lance! (in Portuguese). 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  38. "Gallo convoca seleção brasileira que disputará o Sul-Americano sub-20" [Gallo calls up Brazil national team which will play in South American under-20] (in Portuguese). Esporte Interativo. 27 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  39. "Brasil vence Venezuela e respira no Sul-Americano Sub-20" [Brazil defeats Venezuela and breathes in South American under-20]. Veja (in Portuguese). 20 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  40. Marché, Patrick (13 July 2016). "Brazil's two Gabriels set to light up Rio 2016 Olympic football tournament". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
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  43. "Suspended Neymar replaced by Santos starlet Gabriel". Goal.com. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  44. "Gabigol makes Copa América squad, and says he's realized a dream". Sambafoot. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  45. "Dunga convoca Seleção para a Copa América com 7 jogadores olímpicos" [Dunga calls up Seleção to the Copa América with seven Olympic players]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 5 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  46. "Tite convoca Gabigol, Rodrigo Caio e Santos para amistosos da Seleção contra Senegal e Nigéria". Globoesporte (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  47. "Tite chama 24 jogadores, com Everton Ribeiro, Gabigol e Bruno Henrique para Seleção nas Eliminatórias". Globoesporte (in Portuguese). Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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  49. Smith, Matt (5 February 2016). "Eight players who could be the next Neymar". Squawka. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  50. Seu, Adriano (30 August 2019). "Nuovo ruolo, carattere, muscoli: ecco come Gabigol è tornato a fare... gol". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  51. Raso, Federico (23 October 2019). "Gabigol ha un conto in sospeso con l'Europa". quattrotretre.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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  53. "Gabriel Barbosa". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  54. Unwin, Will (23 November 2019). "Flamengo 2–1 River Plate: Copa Libertadores final – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  55. Vickery, Tim (27 February 2020). "Flamengo's Recopa win over Independiente a stepping stone to more glory". ESPN. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  56. "Gabriel ganha o prêmio 'Despertar da Força' como revelação do Brasileiro 2015" [Gabriel wins 'The Force Awakens' prize as the best newcomer of Brasileiro 2015]. Placar (in Portuguese). 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  57. "Santos domina seleção do Paulistão; Audax emplaca dois e mais o técnico" [Santos dominate the Paulistão team of the year; Audax include two and the manager]. Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  58. "Bola de Prata: veja como ficou a seleção do Campeonato Brasileiro 2019" (in Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  59. "Prêmio Craque do Brasileirão 2019: veja a seleção e quem foi premiado" (in Portuguese). Goal.com. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  60. "Gabigol, do Flamengo, é eleito craque do Campeonato Carioca; veja seleção" (in Portuguese). Globoesporte.com. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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