Gabriel Paulista

Gabriel Paulista made his name outside Brazil rather than in it. His time in Bahia's league brought recognition as the best centre-back in the Baiano championship in both 2012 and 2013, and Villarreal took him to Spain in August 2013 for €3.3 million. Eighteen months later, in January 2015, Arsenal paid £11.3 million to bring him to the Premier League, and he went on to lift the FA Cup twice, in 2014–15 and 2016–17, along with the Community Shield in 2015.

Valencia signed him from Arsenal in August 2017 for €11 million, and it was there that he built the longest and most substantial spell of his career, making 220 appearances. He won the Copa del Rey with the club in 2018–19 and, well into his thirties, was named in the FotMob La Liga Team of the Season for 2021–22.

His run at Valencia ended in January 2024 with a move to Atlético Madrid, followed months later, in June 2024, by a transfer to Beşiktaş, where he added the Turkish Super Cup to his collection in 2024. In January 2026 he joined Corinthians, and he has already won the Supercopa do Brasil with the club.

A call-up to the Brazil squad came in 2015, though he stayed on the bench and never won a cap.