Gabriel Barbosa, the 23-year-old Brazilian striker, is in demand again after a few prolific seasons with Flamengo. Rumours of him joining a European club are increasing every passing day. Wolves, West Ham United and Manchester United have all shown some kind of interest in him over the course of his Flamengo career.
The Trequartista role is diminishing in modern-day football but Gabigol might just have other plans!
Born and raised in the state of Sao Paulo, Barbosa’s talent was first noticed at eight years of age when, playing futsal for Sao Paulo, he scored all six of his team’s goals in a 6-1 win against Santos. From there, he was quickly integrated into the Santos youth system, where he went on to score more than 600 goals and became known to all at the club as Gabigol (for quite obvious reasons)!
A 16-year-old Gabriel Barbosa made his first-team debut for Santos against none other than Flamengo in 2013. The Brazilian media often touted Barbosa as ‘the next Neymar’, so it seemed very fitting that his Santos debut was actually Neymar’s last game for the club before his illustrious move to Barcelona – a passing of the baton, if you may. In fact, in a similar fashion, and after showing early signs of the exciting and skilful attacking play he is now renowned for, he sealed a move to Italian giants Internazionale in 2016, for a fee of just over £26 million.
All this transfer talk is fair, with Gabigol in unbelievable form since joining Flamengo, and showcasing his talent over why Inter Milan had paid a hefty fee for him in 2015. He has been in incredible form, successfully fulfilling the role of the main goalscorer of the Copa Libertadores winners. Even more than that, he has shown his leadership qualities and willpower in his spell in Flamengo.
A better way to assess Barbosa’s metrics would be xOVA: What’s that though?
Winning 4 major trophies with Flamengo and being in such an unstoppable form revived the hopes of him playing and succeeding in a big club in Europe. The first try in Italy with Inter wasn’t that great, but there is a strong belief that the second time will be a success. FootTheBall takes a look into the main qualities of a Brazilian striker, his role in Flamengo’s tactics and whether he will be able to replicate his Flamengo success in Europe.
How good is Gabigol?
Gabriel Barbosa, affectionately known as ‘Gabigol‘ in Brazil, has led the line for Flamengo over the past…
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