Former Inter coach Frank de Boer, who briefly coached Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa at the start of the 2016/17 season, discussed the player in an interview with Dutch broadcaster Fox Sports.
“I hadn’t heard much about him, but they said he was a fantastic player. They call him Gabigol, but we called him Gabi-no-gol. He came to us with two people specifically for social media at his side and a bodyguard, but he didn’t do anything.”
The 23-year-old Brazilian struggled to make an impact in Europe with the Nerazzurri and later Benfica. He scored one goal in ten appearances for Inter, before being loaned out to the Portuguese side, where he also scored one goal in five appearances.
However, he has revitalised his career in Brazil after returning to his native country in the 2017/18 season to play with Santos. He scored 19 goals in 42 appearances for the club, before moving to Flamengo, where he scored two goals in the dying minutes of the Copa Libertadores final yesterday to win the trophy for the club.