Who Is This £40m Target Of Chelsea And Manchester United Aged Just 18

SCOUTING REPORT: GABRIEL ‘GABIGOL’ BARBOSA

Name: Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa

Preferred foot: Two footed

Nationality: Brazil

Age: 18

Height: 5’9”

Strengths: pace, technique, skills

Weakness: Strengths, tactical ability

In terms of producing raw talents, Brazil is the undisputed leader in South America and probably in the whole world (though Argentina fans may disagree). After giving Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka, Rivaldo, Pele, Neymar etc to this world, Brazil has yet another talent to offer in the form of Gabriel Barbosa or Gabigol. Gabigol’s style of play is very similar to that of Neymar and has literally replaced him at Santos. Gabigol’s trickery and pace has mesmerized many Brazilian fans and he is slowly getting the attention of English giants Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. 

An 8 year old Gabigol was identified by the Brazilian legend Zito while playing in a futsal tournament. He was representing Sao Paulo at that point of time, Zito who then managed Santos immediately did everything to secure this raw talent as he realised that he has found an unpolished diamond. After a number of years in Santos academy which has produced the likes of Robinho, Neymar, Ganso etc he made his debut in Neymar’s farewell game at the age of 16. He proved why he is a worthy successor to Neymar with some excellent touches and skills. Santos tied him down to professional contract with a buyout clause worth £40m. The club owns 60% of his economic rights and his family owns the rest.

Gabigol has a similar skill set to that of his idol Neymar as he wriggles his way through the opposition defence and is not afraid to shoot from distance. Gabigol can play all three positions in a front three and he can also play as an attacking midfielder as well. He has an excellent vision for a 16 year old and plays with a lot of maturity. Unlike many other hyped Brazilian talents like Nathan and Mosquito, Gabigol has shown that he can handle the pressures of the senior team and he has consistently performed for Santos at the tender age of 17. Though Gabigol looks a lot like Neymar, he is a different kind of player. Gabigol is two footed, physically strong and is known for his on and off the ball movements. He has an excellent eye for goal as he has consistently scored a lot of goals while coming through the Santos academy. Gabigol’s athleticism and technical ability makes him one of the most potent talents in world football.

Despite such excellent qualities, Gabigol lacks the physicality to succeed in European leagues at the moment. As he is still a 17 year old, he is expected to develop physically so it is not a big concern. Gabigol must also develop his tactical knowledge if he is to develop well over the next few years. Brazilian football places more emphasis on skill and technique as compared to tactical ability, as a result of this a lot of Brazilian youngsters are found out in European leagues despite their obvious talents. This was also evident in the disastrous World Cup last year.

Gabigol must possibly soon move into a European team that suits his style of play. He would love to play along with his idol and other South American greats like Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona but that looks unlikely after the frosty relations between Santos and Barca over the Neymar deal. PSG, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal and Manchester City are also keeping tabs over Gabigol. He will probably stay in Brazil for another year as he has already stated that he doesn’t want to leave Santos any time soon. If Gabigol was to move to Europe, he needs to move into a club that suits his style of play as we have seen a number of talents regress over the past many years as they are forced into a style of game that doesn’t suit them. Gabigol is probably the brightest talent in Brazil at the moment and Santos has a great responsibility to ensure that he doesn’t regress like a number of other talents of his generation.