Gabriel (footballer, born July 1992)

Gabriel Girotto Franco (born in Campinas 11 July 1992), simply known as Gabriel, is a Brazilian and Italian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He currently plays for Internacional, where he received the nickname "RUF RUF" from the fans. He currently plays for Athletico Paranaense, on loan from Internacional.

Botafogo
Gabriel began his career at Paulínia in 2010, where he competed in the São Paulo State Championship Second Division in 2010 and the A3 Series in 2011. He competed for the São Paulo club in the 2011 São Paulo Junior Football Cup, in a group that also included Botafogo. His performance caught the attention of the Rio club, to which he transferred in the same year, playing from the youth categories.

In 2012, Gabriel, showing his potential in the youth categories, was promoted to the main team of the Rio team by coach Oswaldo de Oliveira. Over time, Gabriel stood out in the squad, earning a starting position in the Botafogo squad.

He was the undefeated champion of the Rio Championship in 2013 in both rounds.

At 22 years old, the player, who played 35 out of 38 games, finished the Brazilian Championship as the third place in the tackles category: he did it 131 times.

Gabriel was called up for the Brazilian national team in 2013 by coach Alexandre Galo, but was not released by coach Oswaldo de Oliveira, claiming that the defensive midfielder, then a starter, was very important for the sequence of 6 games of Botafogo, leader of the Brazilian championship at the time.

On December 15, 2014, Gabriel terminated his contract with the Rio club.

Palmeiras
On December 26, 2014, Gabriel was announced as a player for Palmeiras on a two-year loan with the option to buy by the São Paulo team. After having terminated his contract with Botafogo, he was linked to Monte Azul, a team from the A2 Series of the Paulistão, thus being passed on loan to the green and white club. The player was also sought after by Cruzeiro, the Brazilian champion of 2014.

On January 31, 2015, he made his debut for Palmeiras, in a victory over Audax by 3 to 1, in a match valid for the 2015 São Paulo Championship.

In the first half of 2015, the defensive midfielder maintained a good phase. In addition to having been the player with the most duels (21 matches after the end of the state tournament), Gabriel was elected the best defensive midfielder of the Paulista.

In the middle of the year, when he won a song and the nickname "Pitbull" from the fans, the athlete seriously injured his left knee in a match valid for the 2015 Brazilian Championship, against Atlético Paranaense and was out for the rest of the season.

The player was champion of the Brazil Cup with Palmeiras in the year 2015.

The player was champion of the Brazilian Championship with Palmeiras in the year 2016. Elected crowd's favorite and best in his position in the championship.

On January 5, 2017, in mutual agreement with Palmeiras, the contract was not renewed.

Corinthians
On January 13, 2017, Gabriel was announced as a new reinforcement for Corinthians for four seasons.

He debuted with the Corinthians shirt on January 18, in the semifinal against Vasco da Gama, for the 2017 Florida Cup tournament.

On February 22, 2017, in the classic against Palmeiras, Gabriel, who already had a yellow card, was unjustly expelled by referee Thiago Duarte Peixoto who thought that the defensive midfielder had pulled Keno in a counterattack by Palmeiras, but who did that was Maycon.

Even with one less player, Corinthians managed to leave the field with the victory, counting on a goal from Jô, at 42 minutes of the second half. On March 6, Gabriel had his expulsion annulled by the TJD.

He scored his first goal with the black and white shirt in the 2–0 victory over Luverdense, in a match valid for the 2017 Brazil Cup.

On May 7, he won his first title with the Corinthians shirt, the 2017 São Paulo Championship.

On November 15, 2017, after a 3–1 victory over Fluminense, he won the Brazilian Championship. Gabriel was elected the best defensive midfielder of the competition by the Mesa Redonda Trophy.

On April 8, 2018, after a victory over Palmeiras, by 1–0 in normal time, and 4–3 on penalties, he won the São Paulo championship for the second time with Corinthians.

He reached the mark of 100 games with the black and white shirt, in the friendly against Grêmio, on July 8, 2018, and declared himself to Corinthians by reading a letter to the Fiel.

For his highlight in the season, he received a proposal from Al-Hilal. The player even said goodbye to the São Paulo club, but had his contract breached by the Arab club upon arrival in Dubai, returning to Corinthians.

On May 2, 2021, he reached the mark of 200 games with the Corinthians shirt, in a 2–2 draw against São Paulo, for the 2021 São Paulo Championship.

For Corinthians, he scored a goal against all rivals from São Paulo, the last one against Santos in November 2021.

On February 4, 2022, the player said goodbye to his club teammates and on February 10, he said goodbye to the club on his social networks. There were 238 games and 8 goals with the shirt of the São Paulo club.

Gabriel leaves Corinthians being the leader in tackles of the Brasileirão.

Internacional
On February 4, 2022, Internacional confirmed his signing, being officially announced on February 10 with a two-year contract. He was introduced on February 11.

In August 2022, Gabriel became the leader in tackles in the Serie A of the Brazilian Championship for Internacional.

In 2022, even with an injury in the middle of the championship, he was the second highest tackler in the Brasileirão.

He played as captain for the first time in the 3–1 victory against Flamengo and assumed the position of captain throughout several games, becoming a key piece in the squad and trust of coach Mano Menezes.

The fans adopted the nickname "RUF RUF" in allusion to the pitbull dog, in a great phase of the player as captain of the team in 2022.

In March 2023, he launched a line of school supplies, called "RUF RUF" for a social project. The materials were distributed to low-income students from public schools in the Capital Gaúcha.

On May 4, 2023, after an injury, he embarked for Qatar to undergo treatment at the Aspetar hospital, which is a reference in recovery.

On October 16, 2023, his contract was renewed with Internacional until December 2025.

Athletico Paranaense
On April 19, 2024, Athletico Paranaense officially signed the player on loan until the end of 2024, at the request of the coach Cuca.

Honours

 * Corinthians
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2017
 * Campeonato Paulista: 2017, 2018, 2019


 * Palmeiras
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2016
 * Copa do Brasil: 2015


 * Botafogo-RJ
 * Campeonato Carioca: 2013

Individual

 * Campeonato Paulista Team of the Year: 2015
 * Best Defensive Midfielder in Brazil: 2017