JJ Gabriel has spoken out on why he is quitting Manchester United to join Real Madrid at the age of 16.
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JJ Gabriel is set to join Real Madrid in January (Image: Getty)
JJ Gabriel has given an interview to explain why he is quitting Manchester United to join Real Madrid at just 16 years of age. Gabriel is set to join the Spanish giants after disappearing from United in September in a bid to engineer a move, having become disillusioned with the speed of his progression to the senior squad. The youngster has secured the services of super agent Ali Barat to realise his ambition of a switch to the Bernabeu.
He drew interest from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain before deciding on Jose Mourinho's Real as his destination. Despite staying registered with United, whom he joined in 2022, Gabriel has severed all connections with the club.
United are consequently weighing up legal proceedings against Real in order to secure compensation above the sum of between £100,000 and £300,000 that FIFA typically demands in these circumstances.
The Red Devils have yet to receive any communication from Real, who have allegedly presented Gabriel with a three-year contract worth in excess of £850,000 (€1m) annually.
Having formerly been based in Barcelona for training, Gabriel has relocated to Madrid while the matter continues and he spoke to Spanish publication Marca alongside his father following a session with his personal coach.
After making light of selecting Real ahead of fierce rivals Barca, Gabriel said: "My dream is to win the Ballon d'Or."
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Man United will only receive minor compensation for losing JJ Gabriel (Image: Getty)
Prising him away from United and striking an agreement aren't the only obstacles facing Real Madrid.
Gabriel will also need to join the club's reserve side, Real Madrid Castilla, as he's ineligible for the Youth League this season while registered with United.
Players below 18 are typically banned from transferring so early, but Gabriel - who was born in England yet possesses Irish and Cypriot ancestry - holds a European Union passport.
Marca suggests that Gabriel's switch to Real may not be confirmed until January, when the club can formally register him during the transfer window. This means that, even once all terms are finalised with Real, the situation will probably extend into 2027.
Gabriel has received a cautionary message from United icon Ryan Giggs, who has challenged his desire to depart the club. "So far in his career everything is going fine, why would you disrupt that? You're on the right track," Giggs remarked on Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel.
"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."