Brazão key to Santos survival, draws transfer interest | OneFootball

Gabriel Brazão experienced a slight drop in performance towards the end of the year, but that does not change the fact that the goalkeeper was a key player in ensuring Santos remained in the top tier of the Brazilian Championship. Not by chance, the keeper finished the season with increased value and attracted interest from clubs in Brazil and abroad.

Brazão was Santos' starting goalkeeper throughout the entire season and ended the year as the player with the most appearances in the squad. In total, he played in 53 out of the 54 matches the club contested. The only match he missed was against Inter de Limeira, in the Paulistão, due to lower back pain.

The number 1 was one of the team's main highlights of the year and made several crucial saves throughout the Brasileirão, decisively contributing to Peixe's stay in Série A. One emblematic save was in the 2-1 victory over Cruzeiro at Mineirão, when he stopped a point-blank header from Kaiki.

Brazão in the match against Cruzeiro (Photo: Raul Baretta/ Santos FC)

Another great game from Brazão happened in the 2-2 draw with Botafogo at Nilton Santos, in the 30th round of Série A. The goalkeeper finished the match with seven saves, six of them inside the box. The same scenario repeated itself in the 1-0 win over Vitória away from home, in the first half of the season, when he made eight saves and kept Peixe from a draw.

Not by chance, Brazão finished the 2025 Brasileirão as the goalkeeper with the most saves. According to data from the Sofascore platform, he started for Santos in all 38 rounds and saved 127 shots, surpassing names like Cleiton (Red Bull Bragantino), Rafael (São Paulo), and Léo Jardim (Vasco).

Monitored by other clubs, will Brazão stay at Santos?

With his exceptional performance in 2025, Brazão began to attract interest from clubs in Brazil and abroad. Flamengo made the goalkeeper one of their main targets for the next season. Santos, however, does not intend to negotiate the player and believes it is protected by a release clause of 70 million euros (about R$ 445 million at the current exchange rate).

On December 3, Brazão responded to Flamengo's interest and left his future in Santos' hands. “I am very happy at Santos. I leave that to the board. I leave it to my agents. My focus is only here, on Sunday we have a final,” said the goalkeeper before the game against Cruzeiro.

Santos' vice-president, Fernando Bonavides, said he trusts the keeper will stay for next season.

“Without a doubt he will stay. Brazão is our gem, one of those responsible for our rise in the championship. He is a phenomenal athlete, both professionally and personally. That makes all the difference, his work is sensational,” he said in an exclusive interview with Gazeta Esportiva at the Troféu Mesa Redonda 2025.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.