The striker Gabigol faces Flamengo for the fourth time since his departure, keeping the strong emotional bond with the red-and-black club alive even while defending other teams on the national scene.
Gabriel Barbosa‘s journey away from Rio de Janeiro has been marked by constant demonstrations of affection for Flamengo. Since leaving the club from Gávea in 2025, the center-forward has played for teams such as Cruzeiro and Santos, but he has never hidden the fact that his heart remains strongly tied to the red-and-black fans and the Wonderful City.
These public statements frequently spark debates among fans and directors of the clubs he currently represents. While building new chapters in his professional career, the goalscorer has collected moments when he opened his heart about the nostalgia of his glory days in Rio football.
The first reunion and declared passion at the Mineirão
The first time the number nine faced his former club happened in May 2025, playing for the Minas Gerais side. Before the ball rolled at the Mineirão stadium, the athlete made sure to praise the gratitude he feels for the institution and the victorious period he experienced wearing the red-and-black colors.
The player stated:
Everyone knows my affection, my love for Flamengo, I will never hide that. It’s a team that is in my heart
The athlete uttered these words while previewing the duel valid for the Brazilian Serie A.
Respect on the pitch and cheering from a distance
In the same matchup on Minas Gerais soil, fate reserved a decisive performance by the striker, who scored the winning goal in stoppage time. True to his feelings, he chose not to celebrate the decisive goal, reinforcing the enormous respect he holds for the history built at the Rio club.
Later, in an interview with TV Globo, the athlete revealed that he regularly follows the team’s performance and celebrates their recent achievements.
The forward highlighted:
I watch every game, when they win a championship I celebrate too
Thus, he emphasized his strong identification with the fans.
The weight of playing at the Maracanã as an opponent
Already defending Santos in April 2026, the center-forward publicly admitted his discomfort in stepping onto the pitch at the Maracanã as an opponent of Flamengo. The duel ended with a triumph for the home side, but the bigger repercussion came from the athlete’s sincerity about the emotional difficulty of the matchup.
The player vented:
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable playing against Flamengo. Even more so at the Maracanã. Everyone knows my love for Flamengo, for the fans, for Rio de Janeiro
This statement took place before the match for the national tournament.
The desire for a future return
Most recently, in September 2026, the goalscorer was asked about the possibility of wearing the red-and-black shirt again in a future opportunity. Without hesitating, he admitted that he thinks about the hypothesis, although he recognizes the unpredictability of professional sports.
In an interview with Clear TV, he stated:
I have the desire. It’s difficult, football is crazy, I don’t know how it will work out, but I have the desire. Flamengo moves me, it’s a long time, a lot of history
The remark generated immediate repercussion among Santos fans, requiring a subsequent statement from the athlete through the São Paulo club’s official channels.
As the ball rolls for the upcoming fixtures of the season, Gabigol‘s victorious past at Flamengo continues to set the tone for direct clashes, turning each match into a mix of sporting rivalry and strong emotional nostalgia.
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