Gabriel Magalhães

Avaí

Gabriel Magalhães was born in the Pirituba District of São Paulo. At age 13, Gabriel began his career at Avaí but returned to São Paulo after a week due to homesickness. However, he reconsidered his decision and returned to Avaí after two weeks, eventually going on to earn his first professional contract at age 16. He went on to be part of the team that won promotion to Brasileiro Série A in 2017.

Lille

On 31 January 2017, Gabriel joined Ligue 1 side Lille, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. Upon arriving in Lille, he taught himself French and went on to conduct most of his interviews in the language. After playing several matches for Lille II, he was loaned to fellow Ligue 1 side Troyes, before joining Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, where he made just one league appearance for each club's senior team. Gabriel returned to Lille in 2018, starting his first match on 10 February 2019 against relegation-threatened Guingamp in a 2–0 win. He went on to make 14 appearances over the course of the season, scoring his first goal for Lille in a 5–1 win against Paris Saint-Germain on 14 April 2019. The following season, Gabriel began to play more regularly, forming a centre-back partnership with José Fonte. Gabriel was a starter in all six of Lille's Champions League group stage matches. On 31 January 2020, he extended his contract with Lille until 2023. Lille manager Christophe Galtier spoke about the defender's patience, saying "I saw he had great potential…

Gabriel represented Brazil at under-20 level at the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. On 14 November 2020, he made his international debut with Brazil's under-23 national team in a 3–1 victory against South Korea's under-23s in an international friendly. On 17 June 2021, he was named in the squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but was forced to withdraw with a knee injury on 6 July. In August 2023, Gabriel received his first call-up to the Brazil senior national team by interim head coach Fernando Diniz, for two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Bolivia and Peru. On 9 September 2023, Gabriel debuted in a 5–1 win against Bolivia during the same tournament, where he was later substituted off for Roger Ibañez in the 84th minute due to injury concerns. On 18 May 2026, Gabriel was selected for Brazil's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Gabriel can play as part of a back three and is known for his partnership with William Saliba. Despite his height, Gabriel is known for being fast. Christophe Galtier spoke about Gabriel, saying "He has a lot of character for a 22-year-old boy. Despite his 190cm height, he is super fast and covers his side well. He is the player who has won the most aerial duels in the first part of the season." Gabriel is also known for his distribution ability, generally looking to play the ball forward or to the left-back. In the 2019–20 season, Gabriel completed the most passes into the opposition half in all of Ligue 1. According to his Lille teammate and mentor José Fonte, Gabriel "has to keep defending well by being aggressive, being well positioned, and not taking risks." Furthermore, Gabriel is renowned for his aerial threat, and henceforth is known to pose a goal threat from set pieces.

In September 2021, Gabriel announced his engagement to his partner Gabrielle Figueiredo, and the couple got married in June 2023. Their daughter was born in March 2022, who they named Maya. Magalhães is also cousin of the professional footballer Denner. A native of São Paulo, Gabriel is a declared supporter of Corinthians, despite having started his professional career at Avaí. He frequently attends matches at the Arena Corinthians during his off-season holidays in Brazil, often being spotted by fans in the stands. Gabriel has publicly expressed his desire to play for the club in the future, stating in interviews that representing Corinthians is a professional ambition and a childhood dream.