Gabriel Jesus will not play for Flamengo. Not now, not later, not ever. The 29-year-old told Brazilian broadcaster Band that the Rio club did approach him during the summer transfer window, but the pull of his boyhood club made the answer easy.
“I am Palmeiras, my mind is Palmeiras, 100% Palmeiras in a possible return,” Jesus said in the Band interview, as reported by CNN Brasil.
Palmeiras produced him through their academy before Manchester City signed him in 2017. The rivalry between the São Paulo club and Flamengo meant any switch to Rio was out of the question, and Jesus said he turned the overture down politely.
“They wanted to talk to me, but I politely said: ‘I really appreciate the contact, but just as there are players from Flamengo’s youth academy that you want to come back, I’m also a product of Palmeiras’ youth system,’” he told Band.
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He also made clear Palmeiras would be the only possible destination if he ever did go home, not Flamengo, not any other Brazilian club.
A deadline-day deal after the Álvarez bid fell through
Jesus ended up staying in Europe. Arsenal let him leave on 1 September, the final day of the summer transfer window, and he signed a three-year deal with Barcelona running until June 2029, the Associated Press reported.
Barcelona had not planned the signing. Hansi Flick’s squad had been chasing Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez and only turned to Jesus late in the window, after Robert Lewandowski’s departure at the end of last season had opened up a vacancy in the Catalan attack.
Jesus credited sporting director Deco and the German coach for closing the deal.
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“I’m very excited to be at such a big club. I’m grateful to Deco and [Hansi] Flick for the signing,” he told Livescore.
Four goals, mostly from the bench
The pivot has paid off quickly. Jesus has four goals and an assist in eight appearances in all competitions for Barcelona, most of them from the bench. His first La Liga strike came in a 3-0 home win over Getafe on 10 October, and he scored again in a 5-2 win at Real Betis a week later before coming off the bench in Barcelona’s 2-1 Clásico defeat to Real Madrid at Camp Nou on 25 October.
Jesus’s Barcelona contract runs through 30 June 2029. He has said that whenever it ends and he does go home, the next shirt he pulls on in Brazil will be the green and white of Palmeiras.
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