Gabriel Jesus arrived in Barcelona recreating his most characteristic celebration: hands on both sides of the head, with fingers spread. It is a celebration that the Brazilian popularized during his time at Manchester City and has repeated throughout his career.
The challenge will be to recover it at Barça. Because Barça is not signing the Gabriel Jesus who dazzled at Palmeiras nor the one who frequently scored at Manchester City. They are signing a forward looking for one last great opportunity to relaunch his career. If injuries spare him, Flick will have at his disposal a versatile, experienced attacker capable of playing different positions. And that is what the German coach is holding on to.
With the goal of recovering his best version, Gabriel Jesus will undergo a medical examination before signing his new contract with Barcelona until June 30, 2028, with an option for one more season, which will depend on the player’s performance and the will of both parties. Barcelona, which had been monitoring the Brazilian forward for some time, closed a preliminary agreement with Arsenal on Sunday for about 10 million euros plus variables that can reach five million. On Saturday both parties shaped the operation with a clear message: Gabriel Jesus will strengthen the center forward position of the team coached by Hansi Flick.
Barça waited until the last two days of the summer transfer window to go after a ‘9’, one of the priority targets of Hansi Flick and the club’s sporting director, Deco, after the departures of forwards Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres and the non-renewal of Marcus Rashford’s loan.
The Argentine international from Atlético de Madrid Julián Álvarez was Barça’s main target to occupy that position in this transfer window, but the refusal of the Madrid club to transfer the player forced the Blaugrana entity to make a move. Still, Barça remains interested in signing the Atlético forward in the future, who this summer publicly expressed his intention to leave the red-and-white club and his preference to join the Catalan team. There will be a second offensive in January.
The club is clear that Gabriel Jesus’s profile, a 29-year-old forward with a dazzling start at Palmeiras and City but a present marked by a significant injury history, is not that of a substitute for Julián Álvarez. It is, rather, a market opportunity for a Barça that counts on Raphinha established as ‘9’ and with versatile options like Fermín, Dani Olmo, or Gordon, who can also occupy that position.
Trained at Palmeiras, he was already on the Blaugrana club’s radar in 2016, before Manchester City acquired his services and goals. With the English team, then led by Pep Guardiola, he scored 95 goals in 236 matches. In 2022 he packed his bags and moved to London. The London club paid just over 50 million euros to City for his signing.
Upon arrival, Arteta said the forward “changed our world.” He was the mobile center forward, capable of pressing and versatile that the Arsenal coach had been looking for a long time. However, he never recovered his Manchester records. His situation worsened with the arrival of new offensive alternatives and he ended up outside Arteta’s main plans.
His performance has been irregular, largely conditioned by the anterior cruciate ligament rupture of the left knee he suffered in January 2025. After recovering from this serious injury, Gabriel Jesus played 27 matches last season, in which he scored six goals, out of the 32 he has scored in 123 appearances with Arsenal.
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Now he arrives in Barcelona with the goal of redeeming himself.
