Gabriel Barbosa

At 27 years old, Gabriel Barbosa has this physical status:

Gabriel Barbosa Almeida (born 30 August 1996), also known as Gabriel Barbosa or simply Gabigol, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Flamengo on loan from Inter Milan. Gabriel made his professional debut at the age of 16 and played in over 250 games for the Santos academy.

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Club career

Gabriel was born in Santos FC's youth program in 2004 and earned the nickname Gabigol for his prolific goalscoring with the club's youth teams. He signed a professional deal with a €50 million buyout guarantee on September 25, 2012, and made his first team debut on January 17th, 2012, in a friendly match against Grêmio Barueri.

Gabriel played in a 0–0 draw against Flamengo on May 26, 2013, his first appearance in the league at just 16 years old. On August 22, he scored his first professional goal, netting the game's first goal against Grêmio in the year's Copa do Brasil.

Gabriel scored a brace and Santos' 12,000th goal in a 5–1 victory over Botafogo-SP last year in the Campeonato Paulista championship. Peixe finished second in the tournament with seven goals.

Gabriel scored his first Série A goal on April 20, 2014, scoring his team's first goal in a 1–1 home draw against Sport Recife. On September 23, he signed a new five-year contract with the club and finished the season with 21 goals, ten ahead of Leandro Damio's high-spending Leandro Damio.

Gabriel was first-choice after Robinho's resignation beginning with the 2015 campaign on the bench. He scored ten goals in the year's Brasileiro and was the top scorer in Copa do Brasil with eight goals, including braces against Sport Recife, Joinville, and Atlético Mineiro, and the national cup final against Palmeiras. Don Balón's outstanding form for the season with Santos also ranked as one of the top young talents in international football in 2015.

Gabriel scored two goals in a row against So Bernardo and Ponte Preta. As his team advanced to the finals of the Paulisto for the eighth consecutive time on April 24, he scored double in a 2–2 home draw against Palmeiras (3–2 victory on penalties).

Gabriel signed for Inter Milan on a five-year contract, reportedly worth €29.5 million, after being warmly welcomed by Inter fans the day before.

Gabigol officially introduced Gabigol in the auditorium Pirelli on September 22nd as an Inter player, as the striker entered the club's first video showing him below the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and then on Milan rooftops, clearly evicting the spot where Inter had intended to bring In Fiameno Ronaldo in the past.

In the 73rd minute, Gabigol made his first appearance on September 25th, subbing Candreva. After coming on as a replacement in a 1–0 home win over Bologna on February 19, he scored his first goal for Inter.

Gabriel joined Portuguese club Benfica on a season-long loan contract on August 31, 2017. He made his UEFA Champions League match against CSKA Moscow on September 12th, defeating lex Grimaldo in the 77th minute.

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

Gabriel's former club Santos announced on January 25 that they had signed an agreement with Inter for his return to the club on a one-year loan contract. In a 2–2 away draw against Ferroviária, he made his re-debut for the club on February 11th, starting and scoring his team's second in a 2–2 home draw.

Gabriel made his Copa Libertadores debut on March 1, 2018, losing 2–0 away against Real Garcilaso. In a 5–1 home routing of Luverdense, he scored a hat-trick, the first of his professional career, on May 11th.

In a 3–0 away win over Vasco da Gama on September 1, Gabriel met all of his team's goals.

Flamengo signed Gabriel on loan until 31 December 2019, according to the official, on January 11, 2019.

Gabriel made his Flamengo debut against Resende in a Campeonato Carioca 1–1 draw on January 23, 2019, against Resende. He started the game and played all 90 minutes. In a 4–1 victory over Americano on February 24, 2019, he scored his first goal in Copa Libertadores matches against San José and LDU Quito, as well as a brace against Portuguesa (RJ) and Madureira in the Campeonato Carioca. Gabriel scored 7 goals in 12 games in the 2019 Campeonato Carioca, as well as being named to the tournament team of the year.

Gabriel scored two late goals in the 2019 Copa Libertadores Final, beating River Plate 2–1, who was also sent off in the game, and then became the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals on Sunday. Flamengo became the country's top goalscorer in two years in less than 24 hours after being named champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1995. Gabriel finished first in the world's best goalscorer in two years in the Tlio Maravilha in 1995 and became the country's top goalcorer in two years in the two-robin-era, established in 2003.

Gabriel became one of Flamengo's most popular players quickly, and fans cheered the phrase Hoje tem gol do Gabigol (today Gabigol will score) often in the stadiums. Bola de Ouro for his Brazil work, and he was named South American Footballer of the Year by Uruguayan newspaper El Pas.

Flamengo reported on January 27, 2020, that the club has agreed on a permanent transfer, and Gabriel has signed a long-term deal with the club until December 2024, reportedly worth €18.5 million.

International career

Gabriel was called up to Brazil under the age of 15 in November 2011. He was born in Miami on June 20th and played with the under-17s in a tournament.

Gabriel was called up to the under-20s for the year's L'Alcdia International Football Tournament on July 22. He was the game's top scorer but missed out on Levante UD's final 2–0 victory over the weekend due to a dismissal in the previous game against Argentina.

Gabriel was also included in Alexandre Gallo's 23-man squad for the 2015 South American U-20 Championship in Uruguay, hosted in Uruguay. In a 2–0 victory over Venezuela on January 20, he scored his first goal in the tournament, netting the last.

Gabriel was also called up for friendlies with the under-23 team in 2015, scoring six goals in just four games. During 2016 Summer Olympics under new general Rogério Micale, he was also part of the host team that won a gold medal.

In Brazil's last group game against Denmark, Gabriel scored a brace against them, defeating Denmark 6-40.

Gabriel was given his first call up to the full squad on March 26, 2016, after replacing suspended Neymar against Paraguay in a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Paraguay. However, he was only an inactive replacement in Asunción's 2–2 draw.

Gabriel was called up by boss Dunga to participate in the Copa América Centenario in the United States on May 5th, describing the call-up as a "dream." In a 2–0 friendly victory over Panama on May 29, he made his full international debut on May 29th, replacing goalscorer Jonas and scoring the last.

Gabriel was called up by Tite's to play in Singapore against Senegal and Nigeria on September 20. Gabriel was the top goalscorer of the Campeonato Brasileiro with first-place Flamengo at the time. Roberto Firmino's replacement came on against Nigeria.

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

He was in Brazil's squad for the 2021 Copa América on home soil in June 2021. In Brazil's first group match of the tournament, he scored the final goal in a 3–0 victory over Venezuela on June 13th. He appeared in a substitute role in his country's 1–0 loss to Argentina in the final on July 10th.

Career statistics

Scores and results list: Brazil's goal tally first, while the score column indicates the score after each Gabriel goal.

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