De Boer: 'Gabigol arrogant'

By Football Italia staff

Former Inter Coach Frank de Boer bitterly criticised Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa, accusing him of having a poor work ethic and “thinking himself a superstar.”

The striker was signed at the age of 20 from Santos and failed to make any impact, scoring one goal and having no Serie A starts.

He was loaned out to Benfica, where the situation barely improved, before being returned to Santos on loan with option to buy.

“Gabigol thought he was still in Brazil and would walk rather than run,” De Boer told ESPN.

“He wanted to receive the ball without running into space, he didn’t understand that he had to train hard. It’s no coincidence that with me he practically never played for Inter.

“He has to look at himself in the mirror, prove every day that he can be the best or at the very least a good player, not thinking himself a superstar.

“After all, he only won the Olympics with Brazil and that’s it… He has to prove to himself, his teammates and the Coach that he’s a good player.

“The potential is there to be a fantastic player, as he has a great left foot, but European football is not the same as in Brazil. I hope he can learn that soon, otherwise it’ll be a loss for Brazilian football too.”

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