Gabriel Jesus has revealed he accepted a “significant” pay cut to leave Arsenal for Barcelona, admitting he did not expect the opportunity to arise at this stage of his career.
The Brazilian completed his permanent move to the Spanish champions on deadline day, signing a three-year contract until June 2029 after Barcelona agreed a deal reported at £8.6million plus potential add-ons.
Jesus has now explained just how determined he was to make the transfer happen.
Speaking at his Barcelona presentation, the former Arsenal striker confirmed he reduced his salary substantially because joining the Catalan club represented a dream opportunity. TNT Sports reports his comments in full.
Read Arsenal previously covered the agreement when Arsenal struck a deal with Barcelona for Jesus.
Gabriel Jesus has joined Barcelona on a permanent deal.
Thank you for everything, Gabby ❤️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 1, 2026
Gabriel Jesus reveals Arsenal pay cut decision
Jesus admitted:
“I took a significant salary drop, but it’s a dream to be here.”
The 29-year-old added that Barcelona also made an effort to complete the transfer and revealed that only a month earlier he did not believe a move to the Camp Nou was realistic. TNT Sports says Jesus only became aware that the transfer could genuinely happen around a week before it was completed.
It represents a dramatic change from his Arsenal position earlier in the summer.
Jesus entered the final year of his contract having fallen behind Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres in Mikel Arteta’s attacking hierarchy.
As recently as August, Read Arsenal reported that Jesus had been left out of training while his future was being resolved.
Barcelona eventually offered him the exit he wanted.
Jesus admits Barcelona move surprised him
Jesus also revealed that he had not expected to receive the opportunity at the age of 29.
He said that once Barcelona’s interest became realistic, he immediately became excited about completing the move.
The forward has also dismissed any concern over being Barcelona’s alternative to former Arsenal target Julian Alvarez, insisting the suggestion that he was not their initial choice does not bother him.
That provides an interesting connection between two of Arsenal’s biggest deadline-day stories.
Barcelona had pursued Alvarez before turning towards Jesus, while Arsenal were simultaneously attempting to convince the Atletico Madrid striker to return to England.
Ultimately, Arsenal’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez ended when the striker decided to remain at Atletico Madrid.
Jesus went the other way and joined Barcelona.
Gabriel Jesus leaves Arsenal after four years
Jesus departs having made 123 appearances and scored 32 goals for Arsenal following his 2022 arrival from Manchester City. Reuters confirms his Barcelona contract runs for three years and reports the transfer fee at around £8.6m.
His Arsenal career was heavily affected by injuries, particularly the serious knee problem which kept him out for almost a year.
Jesus acknowledged that the previous two seasons had been difficult but insisted he is now fully fit and ready to play regularly for Barcelona. TNT Sports carries his comments on recovering from the knee injury.
Arsenal subsequently allowed him to move rather than risk losing him for nothing at the end of his contract.
His exit was one of several major attacking departures during a summer overhaul. Our complete Arsenal 2026 transfer round-up tracks every incoming and outgoing deal.
Arsenal attack looks very different without Jesus
Jesus’ departure also contributes to one of the main questions facing Arteta.
Arsenal have moved on Jesus, Leandro Trossard and other attacking players while Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on loan.
That is why we argued in our Arsenal summer transfer verdict that Arteta has taken a calculated risk by finishing the window without another elite attacker.
For Jesus, though, the decision was considerably simpler.
His Arsenal opportunities were shrinking.
Barcelona arrived unexpectedly.
And he was prepared to sacrifice part of his salary to make sure the opportunity did not disappear.
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