Early career Born in
São Bernardo do Campo,
São Paulo, Gabriel joined
Santos's youth setup in 2004, at the age of 8; his prolific goalscoring with the club's youth sides saw him earn the nickname
Gabigol. and made his first team debut on 17 January of the following year, in a
friendly match against
Grêmio Barueri.
Santos On 26 May 2013, Gabriel made his league debut, at only 16 years old, in a 0–0 draw against
Flamengo. He scored his first professional goal on 22 August, netting the game's only goal in a home success against
Grêmio, for
the year's
Copa do Brasil. On 1 February 2014, Gabriel scored a brace and Santos' 12,000th goal in a 5–1 victory against
Botafogo-SP, for
that year's
Campeonato Paulista championship. He finished the tournament with seven goals, as
Peixe finished second. Gabriel netted his first Série A goal on 20 April 2014, scoring his side's only in a 1–1 home draw against
Sport Recife. He signed a new five-year deal with the club on 23 September, and finished
the season with 21 goals, ten ahead of big money signing
Leandro Damião. After starting the
2015 campaign on the bench, Gabriel was appointed as first-choice after the departure of
Robinho. He scored ten goals in the year's
Brasileirão, and was the top scorer in
Copa do Brasil with eight goals, with highlights including braces against
Sport Recife,
Joinville and
Atlético Mineiro, and the winner in
the first leg of the national cup's final against
Palmeiras. His impressive form for the season with Santos also saw him named by Spanish sport magazine
Don Balón as one of 101 best young talents in world football in 2015. Gabriel started the
2016 season with two back-to-back goals against
São Bernardo and
Ponte Preta. On 24 April he scored a double in a 2–2 home draw against Palmeiras (3–2 win on
penalties), as his side reached the finals of the
Paulistão for the eight consecutive time.
Inter Milan On 27 August 2016, after being warmly welcomed by Inter Milan fans when he landed in Milan the day before, Gabriel signed for
Inter Milan on a five-year contract in a deal reportedly worth €29.5m. On 22 September 2016, the club officially introduced Gabriel as an Inter player in the auditorium Pirelli with a media show: the striker entered the press room after a video showing him below the
statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro and then on Milan rooftops, clearly evoking the spot Inter had realized to introduce
Il Fenomeno Ronaldo in the past. Gabigol made his first appearance on 25 September 2016, subbing
Candreva in the 73rd minute. He scored his first goal for Inter on 19 February after coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 away victory against
Bologna.
Benfica (loan) On 31 August 2017, Gabriel joined Portuguese club
Benfica on a season-long loan deal. He made his debut on 12 September in a
UEFA Champions League match against
CSKA Moscow, replacing
Álex Grimaldo in the 77th minute. Gabriel made his
Primeira Liga debut in a 2–1 loss at
Boavista on 16 September 2017; he replaced
Andrija Zivkovic, again in the 77th minute. He left the club in January with just 165 minutes of playtime and one goal scored, against
Olhanense for the
Taça de Portugal.
Return to Santos (loan) in 2018 On 25 January 2018, Gabriel's former club Santos announced that they had reached an agreement with Inter for his return to the club on a one-year loan deal. He made his re-debut for the club on 11 February, starting and scoring his team's second in a 2–2 away draw against
Ferroviária. Gabriel made his
Copa Libertadores debut on 1 March 2018, starting in a 2–0 away loss against
Real Garcilaso. On 11 May, he scored a
hat-trick – the first of his professional career – in a 5–1 home routing of
Luverdense, for
the year's national cup. On 1 September 2018, Gabriel scored all his team's goals in a 3–0 away win against
Vasco da Gama.
Flamengo (loan) On 11 January 2019,
Flamengo officially announced an agreement with
Inter Milan to sign Gabriel on loan until 31 December 2019. Gabriel debuted for Flamengo on 23 January 2019 in a
Campeonato Carioca 1–1 draw against
Resende, he started the match and played all 90 minutes. He scored his first goal for Flamengo on 24 February 2019 in a 4–1 win against
Americano, this was the first match of a six-game streak scoring including goals in
Copa Libertadores matches against
San José and
LDU Quito and a brace against
Portuguesa (RJ) and
Madureira in the
Campeonato Carioca. Flamengo won the
2019 Campeonato Carioca with Gabriel scoring 7 goals in 12 matches, also being selected to the tournament team of the year. On 23 November 2019, Gabriel scored two late goals in the
2019 Copa Libertadores Final, in a 2–1 win over
River Plate, when he was also sent off in the game, and became the top scorer of the competition with nine goals. Less than 24 hours later, Flamengo became champions of the
Campeonato Brasileiro, with Gabriel having scored 25 league goals in the championship and becoming the first player since
Túlio Maravilha in
1995 to be the nation's top goalscorer in two consecutive years; he also became the top goalscorer of the
Brasileirão in the double round-robin-era, established in 2003. Flamengo's supporters quickly adopted Gabriel as one of their favourite players and chanted the slogan
Hoje tem gol do Gabigol (today Gabigol will score) frequently in the stadiums. He was awarded with the
Bola de Ouro award for his efforts in Brazil and was crowned
South American Footballer of the Year by Uruguayan newspaper
El País.
Flamengo On 27 January 2020,
Flamengo announced that the club agreed on a permanent transfer and Gabriel signed a contract with the club until December 2024 with a deal reportedly worth €17.5m. On 4 September 2022, Gabriel became the youngest player to reach 100 goals in the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. On this date, Flamengo and
Ceará drew 1–1, at
Maracanã, in the 25th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. On 1 July 2023, Flamengo won a Campeonato Brasileiro Série A match against
Fortaleza at home 2–0, with Gabriel scoring the first goal of the evening and reaching the mark of 150 total goals for Flamengo, becoming the ninth player in club's history to achieve this number. On 24 March 2024, the Brazilian Doping Control Authority voted to suspend Gabriel for two years for attempted anti-doping fraud, after he was accused of making it difficult to carry out an anti-doping test before a Flamengo game in the Rio De Janeiro state league. The anti-doping body added that the ban would count from the date of the violation which occurred on 8 April 2023. Gabriel issued a statement denying the allegations stating he has "never tried to obstruct or defraud any test" and that he plans to appeal the decision with the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Flamengo said in a separate statement that they were surprised by the verdict and would support the player with his appeal "because there was no type of fraud". On 30 April 2024, CAS stayed the execution of the ban and cleared Gabriel to play, pending an appeal hearing and conclusion of the arbitration.
Cruzeiro On 1 January 2025,
Cruzeiro announced Gabriel as their new signing, with the player agreeing to a four-year contract. He made his club debut on 25 January, starting in a 1–1
Campeonato Mineiro home draw against
Betim, and scored a hat-trick in a 4–1 home routing of
Itabirito five days later. An undisputed starter under head coach
Fernando Diniz and caretaker
Wesley Carvalho, Gabriel was dropped to the bench by new head coach
Leonardo Jardim, but was still regularly used. He came off the bench in both matches of the
2025 Copa do Brasil semifinals against
Corinthians, but missed one of the club's penalties which caused their elimination in the shootout.
Third spell at Santos (loan) On 3 January 2026, Santos announced the return of Gabriel for a third spell, again on loan. He played his first match after the return seven days later, starting and scoring the equalizer in a 2–1 home win over
Novorizontino. ==International career==