Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães (born 19 December 1997) best known as Gabriel, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as centre-back for Premier League club Arsenal.
Gabriel is a left-footed centre-back who normally plays on the left side of a centre-back partnership. However, Gabriel can also play as part of a back three. Despite his height, Gabriel is known for being fast. Christophe Galtier spoke about Gabriel, saying “He has a lot of character for a 22-year-old boy. Despite his 190cm height, he is super fast and covers his side well. He is the player who has won the most aerial duels in the first part of the season.” Gabriel is also known for his distribution ability, generally looking to play the ball forward or to the left-back. In the 2019–20 season, Gabriel had completed the most passes into the opposition half in all of Ligue 1. According to his Lille teammate and mentor José Fonte, Gabriel “has to keep defending well by being aggressive, being well positioned, and not taking risks.”
Early Life and Career
Gabriel was born in the Pirituba District of São Paulo, Brazil. At age 13, Gabriel began his career at Avaí but returned to São Paulo after a week due to homesickness. However, Gabriel reconsidered his decision and returned to Avaí after two weeks, eventually going on to earn his first professional contract at age 16. He went on to be part of the team that won promotion to Brasileiro Série A in 2017.
On 31 January 2017, Gabriel joined Ligue 1 side Lille, signing a four and a half-year contract. When he arrived, Gabriel taught himself French and went on to conduct most of his interviews in the language. After playing several matches for Lille B, he was loaned to fellow Ligue 1 side Troyes by then head coach Marcelo Bielsa, before joining Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, where he made just one league appearance for each club’s senior team. Gabriel returned to Lille in 2018, starting his first match on 10 February 2019 against relegation-threatened Guingamp in a 2–0 win. He went on to make 14 appearances over the course of the season, scoring his first goal for Lille in a 5–1 win against Paris Saint-Germain on 14 April 2019.
The following season, Gabriel began to play more regularly, forming a centre-back partnership with José Fonte. Gabriel was a starter in all six of Lille’s Champions League group stage matches. Lille manager Christophe Galtier spoke about the defender’s patience, saying “I saw he had great potential and he was able to seize the first opportunity he got. He was hungry to play, and while he bided his time, he worked a lot. He’s an example for other youngsters to follow. It’s a sort of intelligence to behave like that. How often nowadays do you see players not working if they’re not in the squad?”.
On 1 September 2020, Arsenal announced the signing of Gabriel on a long-term contract. Interest in the Brazilian was reportedly high, with multiple clubs willing to match the valuation set by Lille. Gabriel joined for a fee reaching the region of £27m after add-ons.
On 12 September, the opening day of the 2020–21 Premier League season, Gabriel made his debut for Arsenal, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Following his performance in Arsenal’s 2–1 win against West Ham on 19 September 2020, Gabriel was awarded Arsenal’s player of the month award for September. He won the award again in October after featuring in five of Arsenal’s six games in the month. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke highly of Gabriel’s early performances, saying “you move him from France to here at an early age, without talking the language, to adapt to a new way of playing as well… [but] he has done it really quickly and is showing a great mentality as well.”
Despite Arsenal’s poor form in late 2020, Gabriel was awarded his third player of the month award in December after his performances in Arsenal’s 1–0 win against Manchester United on 1 November and their 0–0 draw against Leeds United on 22 November. On 29 November, Gabriel scored his first goal at the Emirates during Arsenal’s 2–1 defeat to Wolves. Gabriel received his first red card for Arsenal on 16 December 2020 in a home game against Southampton, after being given two yellow cards in the space of five minutes for fouls on Ché Adams and Theo Walcott. This was the second time in a row that Arsenal played with 10 men after Granit Xhaka was sent off against Burnley the previous matchweek.
On 28 December 2020, Arsenal announced that Gabriel tested positive for COVID-19.
International Career
Gabriel represented Brazil at under-20 level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. On 14 November 2020, he made his international debut with Brazil’s under-23 national side in a 3–1 win over South Korea’s under-23s in an international friendly. On 17 June 2021, he was named in the squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury on 6 July.
Wife/ Girlfriend
Gabriel Magalhaes does not only love football, his lover, Gabrielle Figueiredo is also very dear to him as he never fails to flaunt her at any given opportunity.
For instance, the 23-year-old Brazilian defender who joined Arsenal on September 1, 2020, from the French Ligue 1 side, Lille for a transfer fee worth, €26 million, hardly misses the opportunity to celebrate Figueiredo’s birthdays.
When the Brazilian model turned 24-year-old on June 17, 2021, the Brazilian defender took to his Instagram account with 430 thousand followers to celebrate his beautiful damsel.
Gabriel shared some loved-up pictures of himself and Figueiredo standing near a swimming pool looking like two lovebirds that were made from heaven.
On one of the arms of Gabriel, there is a tattoo that looks like the face of his 24-year-old lover which means that the Arsenal star has zeroed his mind to love her forever.
The defender made the caption to his Instagram post as detailed as the pictures he used to remind Gabrielle Figueiredo how special she is to him. He also urged her not to disrespect him over their 6 months age difference.
He wrote in Portuguese: “It’s my love, your day, it’s getting old, isn’t it? But you still have to respect me hahahahah. I don’t have much to talk about here, because I already talk daily about how much you are special to me and everyone around you.
“Your energy is surreal, with each passing day I feel more fulfilled to have a person like you to share every moment of life. Be it sadness or joy! Enjoy your day, know that I will always be here for you when you need it. Love u, babe.”
Gabrielle Figueiredo is a star even though she is not as famous as her lover, Gabriel Magalhaes. Unlike her lover who was born on December 19, 1997, Figueiredo was born on June 17, 1997.
As Gabriel is trying to become a household name in football, so is the beautiful blonde trying to make a name for herself in the business of modeling.
Aside from modeling, reports claimed that she has been working so hard to promote her brand which is also related to the fashion business.
There are no details about how the two lovers met, but reports claimed that Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabrielle Figueiredo have been lovers since early 2020, months before he left Lille to join Arsenal.
Gabriel Magalhães is currently not yet married.
Net Worth and Salary
Gabriel Magalhães earns £2,600,000 annually playing for Arsenal FC.
Gabriel Magalhães’ net worth as of 2021 is estimated to be around $3.5 million – $15 million.
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