Santos confirm deal for Gabigol, on loan from Cruzeiro until year’s end | OneFootball

Santos has officially signed Gabigol and confirmed the return of the forward to the club where he was originally discovered. The player joins on loan from Cruzeiro and will be part of the Santos squad for the 2026 season, in a deal built on the athlete's own desire and his lack of motivation to stay at Toca.

The agreement between the clubs provides for a temporary transfer until the end of the year. According to journalist Andre Hernan, there is no purchase option at the end of the contract. There was no immediate payment for the loan, and the two clubs will share the player's salary during his time at Vila Belmiro.

Gabigol's desire to return to Santos was crucial for the progress of the negotiations. The forward saw in the São Paulo club an opportunity to regain prominence in a familiar environment, a factor that facilitated the understanding between the parties involved. With the deal closed, the player was released and did not report back to Cruzeiro for pre-season.

Gabriel joined Cruzeiro at the beginning of 2025 with no transfer costs and, throughout the season, played 43 matches, starting 23 as a starter and directly contributing to 17 goals, with 13 goals scored and four assists. After Leonardo Jardim's arrival, the forward never managed to secure a starting position, being used mostly as a substitute. The former coach of the club justified this mainly due to the playing characteristics of his team, which were more suited to Matheus Pereira and Kaio Jorge, who were the team's best players last season.

The forward's image deteriorated even more at the club after the team's last match of the year, in the Copa do Brasil semifinal against Corinthians, when he was brought on by Leonardo Jardim in the final minutes but missed a chance that could have taken Raposa to the final. After the elimination, the player did not return with the team to Belo Horizonte.

With Leonardo Jardim's departure and Tite's arrival, the chances of a "comeback" at Cruzeiro became even more remote, as the player does not have a good relationship with the coach, with whom he worked at Flamengo between 2023 and 2024 and made some negative statements about their relationship.

Discovered by Santos in 2013, the forward is heading for his third stint at Vila Belmiro. He has played 210 matches, scoring 84 goals and providing 13 assists. The player won the Paulista Championship twice with Peixe between 2015 and 2016, as well as being a runner-up in the Copa do Brasil to Palmeiras in 2015. The forward was also the club's top scorer in the 2018 Brazilian Championship.

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