Catalan giants secure rights to Brazilian prospect.Barcelona have reportedly secured the rights to Santos’ young striker Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa Almeida, who has been compared with current Nou Camp star Neymar, according to Sport.
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The immensely talented 18-year-old has made a real impression for his club this season, and is attracting growing interest from Barcelona, who hava already secured the rights to sign him in the future as part of their initial deal that brought Neymar to the club last summer.
Gabigol has scored 18 goals in 50 games since making his debut as a 16-year-old just last May, and is fast becoming regarded as one of the most exciting young talents coming out of Brazilian football at the moment.
The prolific striker already has a buyout clause of around £40m, though his current contract only runs until next summer, with Santos desperate to tie him down to a new deal to commit his immediate future to the club.
Gabigol’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro, has hinted that the player will be moving to a club playing in the Champions League in the near future, but also feels his client could remain in Brazil for another three or four years still.
“Our intention is to sign a contract for 3 or 4 years as Gabigol is very young,” he is quoted as saying. “The career plan we see for him means he stays with Santos until at least the Rio 2016 Olympic games, then we will decide, but he will end up in a team that plays in the Champions League.”
Image gallery: Falcao WAG