“It is one of the happiest days of my life, because of the love, for feeling at home, and the truth is that one gets a little emotional.” This is the phrase that Gabri Veiga (O Porriño, 2002) pronounced after signing two goals and an assist in the match between Celta de Vigo and Valladolid. The footballer, nicknamed Gabri Potter, uttered the magic words that the sky-blue fans needed to hear during the post-match interview. He thanked the fans of the Balaídos stadium for the ovation with which he received after being substituted in the 71st minute.
Despite his youth, Veiga has become one of Celta Vigo’s most beloved players and a figure who could fit into the Luis de la Fuente mould. Although at the moment it is unknown if he will be one of the summoned Spanish National Team, everything indicates that on March 3 his name could appear on the red list. With 24 games behind him, the same as his number, the player has scored eight goals and given two assists. Numbers that surpass other players of his age such as Nico Williams, Ansu Fati or Pedri.
Born in O Porriño (Pontevedra), a region in the Vigo metropolitan area, Gabri Veiga began to take an interest in football in a very particular way. “When I was very little, at my uncle’s house, a pumpkin made me curious, I started kicking it and from there the balls entered my head,” he said in an interview with La Voz de Galicia. That’s how it went. During the following years, he trained in Santa Mariña, a local team in which his parents and his uncles had also played.
At the age of 11, Veiga will enter what he considers “the club of his life”. After being scouted for a while, Celta de Vigo took an interest in the youngster and gave him a chance at Juvenil A. Although he was not a very technical player, he dazzled with his speed, intelligence and tenacity in front of goal. Virtues that led him to become a luxury midfielder and to be summoned by the subsidiary. In the bronze category of Spanish soccer, he shone so much that in 2022 he began to be called up regularly by the first team.
Although he is in his heyday and his talent has been admired by celebrities like C. Tangana, Veiga continues to offer the leisurely and humble appearance of when he wore smaller boots. The sky-blue player refuses to compare himself with other stars on his team, such as Hugo Mallo or Iago Aspas, of whom some already consider him a worthy successor. “They are big words, like Iago there will be no one,” he said before the Dazn microphones.
As for his intimate side, Veiga leads the life of any boy his age. On his Instagram, which has grown to 20,000 followers, the sky-blue youth squad usually shares photos with his girlfriend, Carla, a medical student with whom he has been in a relationship for several years. “Happy 21 to the apple of my eye. Thank you for being who you are, I hope I can continue to enjoy you for a lifetime. I love you so much, queen, always!”, He commented on a photo with her shared on the day of the birthday of she.
Apart from the sports images that fill his networks, the rest of his publications reveal his family character and his love for the nature of Galicia. Both he and his girlfriend usually share the moments they spend as a couple, walking their dogs, enjoying long walks or simply enjoying the coastal landscape of the city of Vigo.
“He is the typical boy who you like to train because he is a good person, he does not have the evil of others nor does he believe it,” Jorge Cuesta, who was his coach in Juvenil A, revealed about him. “He is the typical footballer who You wish him all the best. Very good education, hardworking, sacrificed, with a privileged and talented physique. He will improve his technical capacity, which is already high”, commented Jacobo Montes, who in 2019 was his coach at Celta B.
Also defined by those close to him as shy and reserved, Gabri Veiga tries to overcome this shyness by bringing out his more human side with his fans. Last week, the footballer responded to a publication in which some children excitedly asked him to autograph their LaLiga stickers. “I’ll sign them whenever they want,” he said. After a few days, he did so. This gesture earned him to make the little ones smile, who were photographed with him.
Currently, there are several Premier League teams that flirt with the young promise under the jealous gaze of the sky-blue fans. The player who has a salary of around 50,000 euros a year has a very high termination clause of 30 million. Which is not an impediment for clubs like Newcastle, Manchester United or Arsenal to be following him closely. The Celta presidency knows that their youth player can continue stinging high, so the sale of him could mean an important economic incentive. Something that not all fans want.
Whatever happens, the emerging sky-blue star does not stick to his sporting merits and has his sights set on the future. The young man studies to be a journalist and combines his university degree with his sports career. Although from time to time he hangs up his boots to sink his elbows, he recognizes that he is not in the same hurry to obtain his title as he is to destroy rival goals. Whether in football or journalism, it seems that, for the moment, his place is among the headlines.
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