Gabriel Almeida is only 19 years old, but the list of clubs he played for is quite unbelievable. After spells at Tottenham and Manchester City, the midfielder is now trying to build his career back in Brazil, where he has just signed for Internacional.
On Wednesday, ESPN Brasil have published a story about his short career, and the youngster told a few details from his time in England.
Gabriel started playing at Sporting, as he lived with his family in Portugal, until he signed for Tottenham when he was nine.
He later left the London club to join Flamengo, and spent a short time in Brazil before being called to go back to the UK to play for Manchester City.
“There was a revolution going on, because the club had been bought by the sheikh. They had a new facility for the youth teams and I thought it would be very good for my future. They invited me, and I went back to England,” he told ESPN Brasil.
“When I was 15, sometimes I trained with the professionals. Mancini enjoyed my football, and put me to train. I spoke to Balotelli, Aguero, Tevez.
“Vieira was the guy who most talked to me. I remember that whenever I did something wrong, he would not let me leave the pitch until I did the right thing. On and off the pitch, he was a big daddy, helped me with positioning in midfield. He also took me to chat with the famous City faces in the locker room.
“The guys put me in a rondo for about 10 minutes to warm up. Then Kompany told me: ‘In two years I want you to do this to me, don’t let me catch the ball’. It was a hell of an encouragement.”
The boy wanted to change City for United, and even tweeted a farewell to the blue fans. However, the deal didn’t happen and he ended up not staying at Mancini’s side either.
“The agent started to negotiate with the United directors, and everything was done. Then, they couldn’t find a financial agreement. He was Rio Ferdinand’s agent. They wanted me to be there. It didn’t work out,” he recalls.
“I spent more time at City, and I didn’t want to renew. We proposed a deal and they didn’t accept.”
In 2013, Gabriel signed for Corinthians, where he played for the youth teams until joining Atlético-PR and now Internacional. It’s hard to know if he will be able to prove himself for the first team, but he certainly won’t lack experience.
