Palmeiras' teen star Gabriel Veron wants to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and forge a path to the pinnacle of his football career.
Jesus left Palmeiras on 19 January 2017 to reportedly join Manchester City for £27m and become one of the premier League's best young strikers.
Verón, who is ranked 12th on Soccer's 2021 NXGN list, used the Brazilian star's rise as inspiration for his career.
What did he say?
"Gabriel Jesus – I follow his example." Perón told Football in an exclusive interview: "He's a good player and he's always trying to get to the top. ”
"He was a role model for me and my career. I hope I can follow in his footsteps. ”
Veron has been linked to Manchester City, while Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal have also expressed interest in the 18-year-old.
The winger has been keeping a close eye on Europe's top flights, considering his next move.
"I watch the Premier League." He said: "It's a very tough race, every game is tough and I love watching games like this. ”
"I also watch La Liga and Serie A. I like to watch everything. ”
Gabriel Belon: So far
Veron's first international presence was at the 2019 U17 World Cup when he led Brazil to a homegrown title.
He scored three goals and two assists in the tournament before being named the tournament's Ballon d'Or winner.
Since then, he has been in the Palmeiras team. In that memorable year of 2020, despite being plagued by injuries, he contributed nine goals and four assists to help the São Paulo team win the Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil.
'A lot of people probably think it's a season I should forget because I've been through a lot of injuries. He said: "But I think this season is a season full of knowledge and adaptation. ”
'I've had a lot of injuries but I've always been with the team and trying to recover, to recover as quickly as possible so I can play again.'
"Even if I can't play that many games, we've made history for the club. It's been a historic season. ”
"Thinking about this new season, my expectations couldn't have been higher. I want to get out of the injury in 2020 and hopefully we can have a great season. ”
Speaking about his most memorable moments, he said: "I think it was my debut in the Copa Libertadores. I will always remember this game because I could only see this game on TV before. ”
'So wearing the palmeiras shirt (for the Copa Libertadores) and the club gave me the opportunity and I'm happy.'
Are Gabriel Belon and Juan Sebastian Belon related?
Although Verón shares the same name as Argentine legend Juan Sebastian Perón, they are not related by blood, although they do have some kind of connection between them.
When the young Brazilian was born in 2002, his parents couldn't make up their minds when it came time to name it, and only one neighbor offered "Peron" the suggestion.
The neighbour is a huge fan of the former Manchester United midfielder, but he is already a father of three daughters and he doesn't want to name them after his own football hero.
Peron's parents were initially unaware of the connection between Perón and football, but the teen star later landed on YouTube to learn more about the man he had inadvertently named after him.