JJ Gabriel’s long and noisy exit from Manchester United looks close to its end. Real Madrid have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the 16-year-old over a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. Neither club has confirmed a deal, and the final paperwork is still some way off, but the pieces have moved quickly in the last few days.
What we know about the JJ Gabriel to Real Madrid deal
The reports differ a little on detail, though they agree on the direction. Gabriel is registered with United’s academy until the end of the season, but Real Madrid intend to sign him in January. Sky Sports says Real want to move in the winter window to fast-forward the end of his academy contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Sources say Madrid have been edging closer to winning the race, beating European giants including Barcelona, and that their optimism grew in the last few hours before publication. Gabriel had spent weeks in Barcelona training with a personal trainer while his future was unresolved, but he is now in Madrid.
The plan for his first months is also taking shape. It reported that Madrid want him to start with their second team, Castilla, while also playing in the UEFA Youth League.
How the JJ Gabriel saga began
The trouble surfaced in mid-September. Gabriel informed United of his wish to join a new club on September 15, and the news stunned officials who had no idea the request was coming. It landed just before he was expected to become the club’s youngest debutant in the Carabao Cup tie against Brighton. He has not been back to the club since walking out in September.
The reason, according to several reports, was playing time. He was reportedly upset that United failed to deliver on promises of more first-team opportunities, which caused problems between his family and the club. United, for their part, viewed his requests over senior, competitive minutes as unfair and are disappointed with how things have played out.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard publicly urged the teenager to stay at Old Trafford after the transfer request became known. It made no difference.
Why every big club wanted him
Gabriel was the talk of English youth football long before any of this. He tore up the U18 Premier League last season, scoring 23 goals with three assists in 23 appearances, and he did it at an age when most players are still in school-age sides.
This season began just as loudly. He scored five goals with two assists in three appearances, including a UEFA Youth League hat-trick against Sabah FK and big Premier League 2 wins over the Ipswich and Leicester U21 sides. The Sabah game was his Youth League debut.
His background adds to the pull. He is London-born, spent time in the youth ranks at Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham, and holds an Irish passport, which allows him to play in the European Union from 16 instead of 18. That passport is a large part of why continental clubs could move for him this winter.
He carries the nickname “Kid Messi”, although Goal notes he is considered more of a Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar clone.
The clubs that chased JJ Gabriel
Real Madrid were never alone. Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich all made efforts to sign him. In early October, Gabriel’s camp held fresh talks with Bayern about a January move. Chelsea were reported as the leading English suitor, and United reportedly feared a switch across town to Manchester City.
The money seems to have mattered. The Times, as relayed by Sports Illustrated, claims Real Madrid, unlike Bayern Munich, were willing to pay the seven-figure salary demanded by the teenager. Spanish outlet Sport had earlier estimated that the total cost to a new club, with a transfer payment, compensation to the family, a three-year contract worth over €1 million a season and agent fees, would reach at least £8.5 million if he first signed a fresh deal with United.
Manchester United’s response: legal action on the table
United have not taken it quietly. ESPN reports that the club believe representatives of Gabriel held at least one meeting with an unnamed club last summer without their knowledge, and that United will consider legal action if they believe illegal approaches were made while he was under contract.
The club also tried to keep him. United offered him a scholarship, though he was expected to decline it. (readmanutd)
On compensation, Football Insider says United are due a fee, expected to be a six-figure sum, which will be lower if he signs for a club outside the Premier League. Sports Illustrated adds that there is not thought to have been any dialogue between United and Real Madrid at this point, and that FIFA will have to approve the move.
What happens next for JJ Gabriel
A few hurdles remain before Gabriel can pull on a Real Madrid shirt. A verbal agreement is not a signed contract, and the two clubs have yet to speak directly. A January registration also depends on the paperwork around his Irish passport and the international transfer rules for minors.
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson put the football side bluntly: few players, in his view, turn down a call from Real Madrid. For United, the sting is that the club helped shape the player and now stands to lose him for a modest fee and a bruised reputation.
For now, the question is no longer whether JJ Gabriel will leave Manchester United. It is how cleanly he can, and whether a legal fight follows him to Spain. We will update this article as soon as Real Madrid or United make anything official.
