Following Santos’ 1-0 defeat in the Campeonato Paulista semi-final first leg clash against Palmeiras, Gabriel Barbosa spoke on his future with the club in an interview with Gazeta Esportiva.

“My intention is to respect this contract, there is so much time to find an agreement but it is too early to talk about it today. It is nice to know that the president would like to keep me, I am happy to stay but I will talk with my father and we will then decide.”

The 21-year-old striker returned to his first club on loan after a difficult year and a half in Europe between Inter and Benfica. Gabigol, as he is otherwise known, arrived at San Siro to much fanfare but failed to set the world alight as perhaps expected when granted the opportunity. He spent the first half of this season on loan with Portuguese club Benfica where he again failed to live up to expectations which lead to the early termination of his loan and a subsequent loan move back to the Brazilian club.