Gabriel Paulista

Villarreal On 15 August 2013, Gabriel Paulista moved to La Liga outfit Villarreal, signing a five-year deal with the club. He made his debut in the competition on 10 November, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Atlético Madrid.

Gabriel Paulista featured in 18 league matches during his first season abroad, sharing terms with Chechu Dorado, as the Yellow Submarine finished sixth and subsequently returned to a European competition. He made his UEFA Europa League debut on 21 August 2014, starting in a 3–0 away win against FC Astana.

Profiting from Mateo Musacchio's injury, Gabriel Paulista also overtook Dorado and was made a starter in 2014–15. He formed a strong partnership with new signing Víctor Ruiz, with his side conceding only 17 goals in the 19 league matches in which he appeared.

Arsenal

On 26 January 2015, Gabriel Paulista was granted a work permit by the UK government and expected to join Arsenal for a fee of around £11.3 million. He signed for the club two days later, with Joel Campbell moving the other way on loan. Manager Arsène Wenger stated that despite the player's fitness, Gabriel could make errors in his first matches due to not being able to speak English.

Gabriel Paulista made his debut for Arsenal on 15 February, playing the entirety of a 2–0 home win over Middlesbrough in the fifth round of the FA Cup. He made his Premier League debut six days later, coming on for Alexis Sánchez in the final minute of a 2–1 win away to Crystal Palace.

Gabriel Paulista made his first full start in the Premier League in Arsenal's 2–0 home win over Everton on 1 March. He experienced a shaky start to the game but later executed a perfect sliding tackle on the goal-bound Romelu Lukaku, cleanly winning the ball. He was an unused substitute on 30 May, as Arsenal won the FA Cup final 4–0 against Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium.

On 19 September 2015, Gabriel Paulista was sent off against Chelsea for a tussle with Diego Costa; Santi Cazorla was later dismissed as nine-man Arsenal lost 2–0. Gabriel initially received a standard three-match suspension for violent conduct after receiving a direct red card, but the decision was later withdrawn after a "wrongful dismissal claim"; he was however banned for one match and fined £10,000 for improper conduct by not leaving the pitch immediately.

On 28 December 2015, Gabriel headed in Mesut Özil's corner kick to open a 2–0 win against Bournemouth; the result put The Gunners top of the Premier League.

Valencia On 18 August 2017, Gabriel Paulista returned to Spain to join Valencia on a five-year contract. He made his debut on 9 September, in a 0–0 home draw against Atlético Madrid. On 20 January 2018, he was sent off for dissent in a 2–1 loss at UD Las Palmas, infuriating his manager Marcelino García Toral.

Gabriel Paulista played five games as Los Che won the 2018–19 Copa del Rey, including the 2–1 final win over Barcelona on 25 May; it was their first honour for eleven years. On 10 December 2019, he was sent off at the end of a 1–0 win at Ajax in the last game of the Champions League group stage, for headbutting Dušan Tadić.

In 2020–21, Gabriel Paulista scored a career-best four goals in 31 games, starting with an equaliser in a 4–2 home win over city rivals Levante in the opening game on 13 September 2020. He signed a new contract to 2024, in January 2021.

Owing to a muscular injury in his right leg, Gabriel Paulista was sidelined from 30 October 2021 until the following 26 February, when he needed just four minutes to score the only goal away to Mallorca. He played the full 120 minutes of the 2022 Copa del Rey final on 23 April – being booked after five minutes for a foul on Borja Iglesias – as his team lost on penalties to Real Betis.

Atlético Madrid On 31 January 2024, Gabriel Paulista joined fellow La Liga club Atlético Madrid on a free transfer, signing a contract until the end of the season.

Beşiktaş On 15 June 2024, Gabriel Paulista joined Süper Lig club Beşiktaş on a free transfer until 2027.

International career On 20 March 2015, Gabriel Paulista was called up to the Brazil national team for the first time, replacing the injured David Luiz for friendly matches against France and Chile. However, he did not feature in either match.

On 9 December 2020, Gabriel Paulista obtained Spanish nationality through residence, and made himself available to represent the Spain national team.

Career statistics

Honours Vitória Campeonato Baiano: 2010, 2013 Arsenal FA Cup: 2014–15, 2016–17 FA Community Shield: 2015

Valencia Copa del Rey: 2018–19

Beşiktaş Turkish Super Cup: 2024

Corinthians Supercopa do Brasil: 2026

Individual Campeonato Baiano Best Central Defender: 2012, 2013 FotMob La Liga Team of The Season: 2021–22