He’s being linked to Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid amidst rumors that Inter are desperately trying to sign him. In an attempt to shed more light on the young player that is setting Brazilian club football alight as well as exciting the biggest clubs in Europe, we asked Kristian Bengtson the founder of AnythingPalmeiras.com, to introduce Gabriel Jesus to SempreInter.com’s readers in an exclusive editorial.
The “next big thing” in Brazilian football is already delivering: with nine braces in 12 games so far in the Brazilian Championship anno 2016, Palmeiras’ Gabriel Jesus is the competition’s top scorer, drawing attention from all of Europe’s major clubs. Should he keep the pace up, he will be the youngest Golden Boot in the history of the Brasileirão.
Gabriel Fernando de Jesus caught the attention of Palmeiras’ scouts in 2012, when for amateur club Anhanguera the kid finished top scorer in the São Paulo U15 Cup. He signed with Palmeiras in mid-2013, having just turned 16. From a humble background, the forward never misses an opportunity to praise his mother, who single-handedly raised Gabriel and his three siblings, always stressing the importance of discipline, school, and the bible.
Gabriel Jesus started training with Palmeiras’ main squad in August 2014, and was promoted after having scored an impressive 37 goals in 22 games in the U17 state championship. In December of 2014, after lengthy negotiations, he signed a new, five-year contract with the club, the kid’s desire to remain at Palmeiras was decisive to close the deal as his agents kept pushing the limits. In the process, not particularly well-conducted by Palmeiras, their share in the player dropped from 70% to 30%, and the rest was divided between two agents and the player himself (15%).
Gabriel Jesus has an unusual strong head on his shoulders, being very determined, disciplined and hardworking. On the pitch, he is a deadly combination of pace, physique and technique, normally drifting wide and to the left. To excel further, he needs to work a bit on his temper, as well as increase his goal scoring percentage when finding himself face to face with the keeper.
The question is not if, but when, Gabriel Jesus starts packing for Europe. To snatch him from Palmeiras, Brazil’s most successful club sporting 8 league titles and 3 national cup titles, a foreign clubs needs to put €40 million on the table. Five clubs, of Gabriel Jesus’ preference, have to come up with “only” €24 million: Barcelona, Bayern München, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
Despite all the attention and speculations, Gabriel himself seems genuinely keen on staying at Palmeiras until the end of this season, aiming for the championship title and, who knows, the Golden Boot. 2016 will be busy enough as is, with the Olympic Games only a month away and Gabriel representing Palmeiras in the Brazil squad, alongside veteran keeper Fernando Prass.
Gabriel Jesus is turning into a top player, but he is not ready, not quite yet. The develoment he needs he can only get in Brazil, staying at Palmeiras for another 6-12 months. Gabriel knows this and I believe that this is how it will play out.
