Manchester United appear to be losing their battle to keep JJ Gabriel, with Real Madrid now convinced they’ve won the race for the 16-year-old.
The youngster’s future has been up in the air since he asked to leave Old Trafford in September. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have all been involved, but the latest news from Spain suggests the competition is over.
And there’s a rather important development behind it. Gabriel has reportedly obtained the European passport he needed to make his move to Spain possible.
Real Madrid have their man, according to AS
Spanish newspaper AS now reports that Real Madrid have beaten their rivals to Gabriel’s signature. An announcement is expected in the coming days.
This is quite a jump from the situation described by Sport a few weeks ago. At that point, the teenager’s agent, Ali Barat, was still evaluating offers with his family.
AS, however, sounds certain about the outcome. According to the newspaper, Madrid have been working on this deal for around a year. There have been months of conversations, phone calls and plenty of patience behind the scenes.
Juni Calafat, the club’s chief scout, has kept in regular contact with Gabriel’s entourage. He eventually received the green light to push ahead.
The Spanish giants had been cautious about the legal complications of signing someone so young. That was one of three major obstacles they needed to overcome.
Gabriel turning 16 on October 6th was another. The third was his passport situation.
AS claims the youngster obtained a European passport just days ago, thanks to his Irish father and Cypriot mother.
That is a significant development, although European citizenship alone doesn’t automatically settle the FIFA rules surrounding international transfers of minors from England.
Manchester United’s efforts haven’t worked
The Red Devils haven’t exactly sat back and watched this happen. AS says Manchester United did everything they could to convince Gabriel to stay. They even included him in a first-team cup squad when he was just 15, but that apparently made no difference.
His decision had already been made. The teenager has been one of the standout talents in United’s academy, scoring 29 goals and providing four assists in 32 appearances for the U18s.
Losing him would be a considerable blow, especially with so many European heavyweights chasing him. Real Madrid, meanwhile, already have a plan for his development.
The newspaper says Gabriel will initially join Castilla, their reserve side, at Valdebebas. There’s also an expectation that he’ll eventually make the step up to the senior team, although no specific timetable is given.
AS even compares the operation to Madrid’s previous pursuit of Neymar, suggesting the club are finally landing a young talent of that calibre after missing out on the Brazilian.
For now, the important point is that Madrid appear to have moved from negotiating to preparing Gabriel’s arrival.
United haven’t officially lost him yet, and the legal details of the proposed move still deserve some scrutiny. But with AS reporting that an announcement is only days away, the prospect of keeping him at Old Trafford looks increasingly remote.
