Gabriel Batistuta as Baji Ambassador 2024

Gabriel Batistuta (nickname: Batigol and El Ángel Gabriel) is an Argentine former professional footballer whose prolific scoring made him an icon of both the Argentine national team and the Italian Serie A League.

In 1988, Batistuta made his debut in Argentina with the Newell’s Old Boys, followed by River Plate and Boca Juniors. His stellar performance caught the attention of European clubs, and in 1991 he signed with Fiorentina of Italy’s top league, Serie A.
In 2000, Batistuta moved to AS Roma for €36 million and won the Serie A championship. After a short stay on loan to Inter Milan in 2003, he played his last two seasons with Qatar’s Al-Arabi SC before he retired in 2005.

At international level, he was the Argentine’s all-time leading scorer with 54 goals in 77 international matches, until his record was broken by Lionel Messi in 2016. In 2004, Batistuta was named by Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players, and it’s worth mentioning that Batistuta is the only player in football history to score two hat-tricks in different World Cups.