The president of Santos, Marcelo Teixeira, announced this Friday (2) the return of striker Gabriel Barbosa, known as Gabigol, aged 29. Linked to Cruzeiro, he will defend the São Paulo club on loan until December this year. The athlete is awaiting medical examinations.
The agreement between the parties was reached on Thursday (1st), and the player did not need to report for the pre-season of the Minas Gerais team, now managed by Tite. Gabigol and Tite worked together at Flamengo, during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and did not cultivate a good relationship.
When leaving the Rio team for Belo Horizonte, Gabigol even said that Tite did not respect him as an athlete. During his time as coach of the Brazilian national team (2016-2022), the coach also gave the striker few opportunities.
Now under the orders of Juan Pablo Vojvoda, Gabigol will return to the club for which he emerged and played professionally from 2013 to 2016 and in 2018. During this period, he played 210 matches, scored 84 goals and provided 13 assists. He was top scorer in the 2018 Brazilian Championship, with 18 goals, and three times top scorer in the Copa do Brasil, in addition to winning two editions of the Campeonato Paulista (2015 and 2016).
The contract with the Vila Belmiro club provides for a purchase option at the end of the loan term.
“We are waiting for Gabriel for routine medical examinations. He has an identity with the club and has always shown, at least since December, the desire to return,” said black and white president Marcelo Teixeira.
“We noticed that he is focused, prepared and determined to help in a year full of challenges, difficult, with many competitions. We need athletes determined not only in name, but to collaborate and contribute with the quality they have,” he added.
Santos and Cruzeiro will share Gabigol’s salary. The Minas Gerais club will not receive immediate compensation for the loan and will continue to bear other player-related costs, such as gloves.
The deal comes days after Santos announced Neymar’s contract renewal. The striker has chosen to extend his contract with the club until the end of this year.
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