Barcelona finally have the striker they weren’t supposed to sign.
In the dying hours of the window, the Catalan club closed a surprise deal for Gabriel Jesus, prising the Brazilian away from Arsenal for a fee of 10 million euros. It was a move that seemed off the table only days ago, when the club all but accepted they would go without a new No 9 after talks for Julián Álvarez collapsed in the face of Atlético de Madrid’s refusal to negotiate.
Then the market twisted, and an old story came full circle.
A pursuit eight years in the making
Gabriel Jesus is not a new name in the corridors of power at the Ciutat Esportiva. Barcelona first circled him back in 2016, when he was tearing through defences at Palmeiras and already catching the eye with the Brazilian national team.
Robert Fernández, then Barça’s sporting director, flew to Brazil to watch him live. He returned convinced. So were several other European clubs. The race was on, and the young forward hesitated as offers piled up.
Barcelona played what they thought was their trump card: Neymar.
Both were preparing with Brazil for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Between training sessions, Neymar tried to sell him on the Camp Nou dream, as Gabriel Jesus later recalled in an interview.
Neymar talked to him about the city. About the rhythm of life. About how the climate felt like home. About the size of the club and the stage it offered. Those details made the youngster think twice. He admitted that the conversation “made me hesitate” because Barça were “also a great club,” even as he weighed where he would actually play more.
That was the crux. Barcelona could offer prestige. Someone else could offer minutes.
When Pep picked up the phone
The “other big club” in his mind was Manchester City. And that was where the balance finally tipped.
Pep Guardiola called.
For a young Brazilian forward, already on Europe’s radar but still deciding his path, that direct contact mattered. Gabriel Jesus has never hidden it: after speaking to Guardiola on the phone, he felt City’s interest more intensely and chose the Premier League over Barcelona.
The Catalans were left with a what-if, another talent who slipped away at the decisive moment.
Now, years later, the equation has changed. Gabriel Jesus arrives not as the raw promise from Palmeiras but as a seasoned forward, shaped by Manchester City and tested at Arsenal, finally pulling on the shirt of the club that once tried to recruit him through Neymar’s charm and Guardiola’s shadow.
Barcelona have paid only 10 million euros this time. The fee is modest. The story behind it is anything but.
