JJ Gabriel with Real Madrid and Man Utd badges
JJ Gabriel with Real Madrid and Man Utd badges.
JJ Gabriel has broken his silence after leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid and took a swipe at Barcelona in the process.
The Red Devils were stunned earlier this season when Gabriel made a request to leave Old Trafford, with the 15-year-old and his camp frustrated at the lack of a clear path to the first team after he impressed in pre-season.
Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were all thought to be interested in the teenager, but Real Madrid have beaten off competition and he’s expected to sign a contract with Los Blancos in January.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein wrote on X earlier this week: ‘JJ Gabriel expected to sign for Real Madrid from Manchester United in Jan.
‘Interest from likes of PSG, Barcelona, Bayern Munich + #MUFC tried to retain but 16yo attacker chose #RMFC & set to join on long-term contract subject to FIFA regs.’
Man Utd are considering legal action against Real Madrid in order to extract compensation beyond the fee of between £100,000 to £300,000 that FIFA usually insists upon in these situations.
The Red Devils are yet to be contacted by Real, who have reportedly offered Gabriel a three-year contract worth more than £850,000 (€1m) per season.
With the process ongoing, Gabriel spoke to Spanish newspaper Marca alongside his dad after a session with his personal trainer.
The paper’s front cover, featuring a photo of Gabriel, declares that his transfer to Real Madrid is imminent.
While posing for a photo with his copy, Gabriel asked, “Can I keep it?” before confirming “My dream is to win a Ballon d’Or”.
Marca also questioned the teenager about why Madrid is better than Barcelona, to which Gabriel said: “Obviously, Madrid”.
The report adds that his agent, Ali Barat, is already looking for accommodation in Madrid to house Gabriel and his family while negotiating the terms of his new contract.
Giggs critical of Gabriel decision
When asked about Gabriel’s situation at Man Utd, Red Devils hero Ryan Giggs told Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel: “So far in his career everything is going fine, why would you disrupt that? You’re on the right track.
“I trained at 15, I didn’t play for the first team until two years later so you have to have that patience that people just don’t seem to have at the moment.
“And believe it or not, first-team football for Man United is completely different to playing in the youth team, playing pre-season for the first team, it’s completely different. That first game, yeah, you might do alright, but you have to do it for 40, 50 games a season. You’re going to get injuries, loss of form, bad results, so you have to be patient.
“If you’re on the right trajectory then just bide your time, no matter how good you are.
“Max Dowman is unbelievable but he’s not playing for Arsenal at the moment.
“I’m sure he’ll bide his time, I’m sure he’s getting impatient, but he’s not kicking off, he knows in a couple of years time he might be the main man for Arsenal.”
JJ Gabriel with Real Madrid and Man Utd badges
JJ Gabriel with Real Madrid and Man Utd badges