Brazilian wonderkid Jesus is the latest footballer to be added to the most expensive teenagers list.
(Image credit: Man City)
After sealing a move from his native Brazil to the northwest of England, young forward Gabriel Jesus becomes one of the most expensive teenagers in football with a price tag of £27 million. The 19-year-old has signed a five-year contract with Man City, although he will stay with Palmeiras until the end 2016.
| Top 10 Most Expensive Teenagers | From | To | Year | Transfer Fee (Euros) | Transfer Fee (British Pounds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Martial | AS Monaco | Manchester United | 2015 | €50 million | £36 million |
| Lucas Moura | Sao Paulo | PSG | 2013 | €40 million | £34 million |
| Javier Saviola | River Plate | Barcelona | 2001 | €37.90 million | £30.52 million |
| Luke Shaw | Southampton | Manchester United | 2014 | €37.50 million | £31.88 million |
| Wayne Rooney | Everton | Manchester United | 2004 | €37 million | £31.45 million |
| Renato Sanches | Benfica | Bayern Munich | 2016 | €35 million | £29.75 million |
| Gabriel Jesus | Palmeiras | Man City | 2016 | €32 million | £27 million |
| Anderson | Porto | Manchester United | 2007 | €31.50 million | £26.78 million |
| Marquinhos | AS Roma | PSG | 2013 | €31.40 million | £26.69 million |
| Antonio Cassano | Bari | AS Roma | 2001 | €28.50 million | £24.23 million |
(Source: Transfermarkt)
“Manchester City is one of the best clubs in the world so I’m really pleased to sign,” commented Jesus, before going on to shower praise on City’s new manager, “We have many great talents in the team and a fantastic manager in Pep Guardiola that I can learn so much from. I’m looking forward to showing the City fans what I can do and I think we’ll have a great future together.”
Txiki Begiristain, City’s Director of Football, expressed his excitement at capturing the youngster amid strong interest from other top clubs, and stressed he looks forward to the ‘joga bonito’ style of football that Jesus is going to bring to the club.
“We are delighted that Gabriel has chosen to join us. He one of the most exciting young prospects in world football and plays the game in a spectacular way. We look forward to him making a big impact at Manchester City in January,” said Begiristain.
Before he became one of the most expensive teenagers in football, Jesus joined Palmeiras as a 16-year-old prospect in the club’s youth set-up in 2013, and he quickly adapted to the squad which saw him receive a promotion to the first team in 2015. In his debut season he scored a combined 7 goals in 37 appearances while so far in 2016 he’s already racked up 19 goals across all competitions in 30 outings for the Brazilian side.
And with Man City agreeing to let him stay in Brazil until the end of the season, Jesus will be looking to find the back of the net on plenty other occasions until he joins the Sky Blues in January of next year.
According to The Guardian, the 19-year-old forward supposedly had a clause in his Palmeiras contract that stipulated he would become available for ‘merely’ €24m (£20.3m) to several European heavyweights (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munch and PSG) should they come calling for his signature. However, instead the Brazilian opted to make the Etihad his new home, with the main reason for that being Pep Guardiola’s recent appointment as the new boss of the club.
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