Brazil starting centre-back says he almost joined Palmeiras | OneFootball

Called up to represent the Brazilian National Team at the 2026 World Cup, center-back Gabriel Magalhães revealed that he nearly wore Palmeiras’ shirt before moving to European football.

In an interview with journalist Isabela Pagliari, the defender said he received inquiries from Verdão as well as Flamengo while he was still playing for Avaí.

Move to Europe happened at 19

Developed in Avaí’s youth academy, Gabriel Magalhães made his professional debut in 2016 and played 39 matches for the club from Santa Catarina. The center-back was eventually sold to Lille in January 2017, at the age of 19.

Before establishing himself in French football, he had loan spells at Troyes, also in France, and Dinamo Zagreb, in Croatia.

Now at Arsenal, Gabriel Magalhães is enjoying one of the best spells of his career and heads to the World Cup as one of the top Brazilian defenders currently playing. An undisputed starter under Mikel Arteta, the center-back recently won the Premier League with the London club.

This season, he has played:

Signed by Arsenal in 2020 for around R$ 200 million at the exchange rate at the time, the defender has made 258 appearances for the English club, scoring 24 goals.

First World Cup of his career

At 28, Gabriel Magalhães will play in his first World Cup. The defender has already made 17 appearances for Brazil and was part of the squad that played in the 2024 Copa América.

Now, he is among the 26 players called up by coach Carlo Ancelotti for the 2026 World Cup.

Palmeiras’ next match

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