The wait is over! Center forward Gabriel Barbosa, known as Gabigol, is the new reinforcement of the . On the first day of 2025, Raposa announced the signing of the 28-year-old striker. The official announcement took place after the end of the countdown done by the athlete himself on his YouTube channel.
The action generated a lot of expectation among fans in recent days. Free on the market after not renewing his contract with Flamengo and after being approached by clubs like Santos, Gabigol is Cruzeiro’s fifth reinforcement for the season. He signed for four seasons, until the end of 2028, and will wear the number 9 shirt.
the midfielder, midfielder Rodriguinho (ex-América-MG) and the attackers and as reinforcements for 2025, when he will compete in Mineiro, Copa do Brasil, Brasileirão and Sul-Americana.
Idolatry in Flamengo
Gabigol played for Flamengo in the last six seasons and became one of the greatest idols in Red and Black history by winning Libertadores (2019 and ), Copa do Brasil ( and ), Brasileirão (2019 and ), Carioca (2019, , and ), Supercopa do Brasil (2020 and ), and Recopa Sul-Americana (2020).
In total, Gabigol scored 161 goals — 16 in finals, two of them in — in 306 matches for Flamengo. In 2024, there were eight goals and one assist in 38 games for the Red and Blacks.
Frustrated passage through Europe
In 2016, after standing out for Santos, Gabigol was sold to Inter Milan and gained his first opportunity in the Brazilian team under the command of Dunga. However, it failed to live up to expectations.
Without the trust of the coaching staff, the striker scored just one goal in ten games for Inter Milan and ended up loaned to Benfica in 2017, but, throughout the final stretch of that year, he only entered the field five times and scored on one occasion. .
Return to Brazil and new chances in the Brazilian team
In 2018, Inter Milan chose to loan Gabigol again — this time, to Santos, scoring 27 goals in 52 games. The good performance aroused the interest of Flamengo, who, in 2019, negotiated a loan with Inter Milan.
That year, Gabigol shone and was the protagonist of one of the best years in red and black history. With its success, it was purchased in 2020 for more than 17 million euros (at the price at the time, R$83.5 million).
With Tite, Gabigol once again gained chances in the Brazilian team. Runner-up in the Copa América, in 2021, on Brazilian soil, the center forward has five goals in 18 matches with the Canarinhas shirt.
