Gabriel Vareta hails Middle East progress, ex-Palmeiras join market

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Nosso Palestra

·5 February 2026

Gabriel Vareta hails Middle East progress, ex-Palmeiras join market

The defender Gabriel Vareta, discovered by Palmeiras, has completed six months at Al-Wasl, a traditional club in the United Arab Emirates football, where he is undergoing a process of adaptation and evolution in Middle Eastern football. This week, the local football scene also welcomes the reinforcement of the forward Sorriso, a standout for Verdão in the Copinha, who has been loaned by the club to Baniyas Sports & Culture Club, also in the United Arab Emirates.

At Al-Wasl, Vareta also plays alongside forward Miguel Borja, a former Palmeiras player, who signed with the UAE club in January. The player has accumulated 112 matches for Verdão between 2017 and 2019.

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Reflecting on this new phase of his career, Gabriel Vareta assessed the recent period and highlighted the lessons learned from the international experience.

“These first months at Al-Wasl have been very important for me, both professionally and personally. It's a football with different characteristics, more physical and very intense, so I had to quickly adapt to the pace and style of play.”

“The experience I had before in Saudi Arabia also helped a lot in this process, especially since I had already faced top-level athletes. I have learned a lot in the club's daily routine and feel increasingly confident on the field. My focus is to keep evolving, gaining space, and representing Brazilian football well abroad,” he concluded.

Before signing a permanent contract with Al-Wasl, Vareta spent a season on loan at Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia, where he had the opportunity to face names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kanté, testing his defensive skills against world-renowned players.

Remember Gabriel Vareta's Journey

Fully trained in the Palmeiras youth system, Vareta joined the club from the youngest categories, starting in childhood and progressing through all the youth teams up to the Under-20. In total, he spent more than a decade playing in the green and white colors.

During this period, he accumulated important trophies: Under-20 Brazilian Championship (2024), Under-20 Paulista Championship (2020 and 2023), Under-17 Brazilian Championship (2022), Under-17 Brazil Cup (2022), and Under-17 Paulista Championship (2022), in addition to state titles in lower categories.

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