Both of La Liga’s biggest clubs are keen on Gabriel Jesus, but if Palmeiras get their way, he won’t leave until 2017
Despite heavy speculation surrounding his future, Gabriel Jesus, the exciting 19-year-old Palmeiras forward, may not move to a European club until 2017, with his club keen to keep him in Brazil for one more year.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been tracking the player, who is expected to cost €24 million, yet the Sao Paulo club hope to negotiate a deal in which the player spends one final year at home or, at the very least, stays until December.
This kind of delayed transfer is not uncommon for Brazilian teams and is something that both of La Liga’s top two clubs have experienced before; Real Madrid tried it with Cicinho in 2005 and, more recently, Barcelona did likewise with Neymar.
“He’s not going to leave right now,” the player’s coach Cuca said. “I think that would be better for him as he is only 19-years-old and the best thing would be to continue developing here and to get experience with the Brazil national team, which he soon will.
“It still seems too soon to me for him to go to Europe.”
The issue is complicated further by the third-party ownership, given that the 19-year-old’s rights are split between the player, his representatives and the club.
Juventus and Bayern Munich are among the other European giants thought to be interested in the young talent, who has scored six times in 10 outings this season.