The speculation is over! Arsenal sign their biggest signing in years at €52m

A great signing for Arsenal. A very quality player for reasonable money. From Manchester City comes the skilful Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, signed until 2027 and the transfer fee is €52 million. Anyone who follows football must have heard this name. Gabriel Jesus is an excellent footballer and what’s more, he is preceded by a reputation as a good and humble person.

Jesus is now 25 years old and has so many seasons ahead of him. He joined the Premier League from Brazilian side Palmeiras in 2017 for €32M, becoming one of the most expensive teenagers in the competition’s history.

For a long time he played football only on the streets in appalling conditions. But he played it all the time, happily and well. He was, as he says, obsessed with football. Through several purely amateur clubs, he made it to the Palmeiras youth team, where he immediately began to thrive.

In 2015, he made his debut for the “A” team and immediately scored goals. The coaches and fans had high expectations for him, for a kid only 17 years old. But the expectations were fulfilled. His first season was great, he won the domestic cup with the team.

The next season was even better. In Palmeiras, the league title was celebrated after 22 years of waiting, and Jesus had a big part in it. He scored 12 goals, to which he added 5 assists. His tremendous progress and great performances caught the attention of the national team coaches.

Jesus made the national team for the 2016 Olympics. There too, he scored 3 goals and Brazil celebrated their first ever win at the Olympics in their history. Then came the transfer to Manchester City and for years he has been one of the best players in the league.

In his 6 years with the Citizens, Jesus has appeared in 233 competitive matches, scoring a total of 95 times. The interesting thing about his career is that he wasn’t a member of any major team during his childhood years, let alone a youth academy directly.

This story of the humble boy continues. During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Jesus made a living by putting up posters for that particular football event. Apparently, even he himself had no idea how fast his career would take off.

That he would move to the famous Palmeiras, immediately win a trophy, win a league title with them a year later, win the Olympics the next year and move to one of the biggest football clubs in the world, and that he would earn money through his hard work and diligence that no one around him had ever dreamed of.

He hasn’t forgotten his hometown or his family. He is a regular charity worker, helping to build necessary facilities and he also contributed a lot during the coronavirus, when Brazil was not doing well at all.

He has a tattoo on his arm of a little boy in a Brazilian street looking dreamily at his football future. It’s him, Gabriel Jesus, when he was little. His story is now writing another chapter. He’ll be wearing the Gunners jersey and he’s sure to give us many great footballing moments!

Source: Transfermarkt, Fabrizio Romano