JJ Gabriel pushes for Man United exit citing club's decline since Ferguson era

JJ Gabriel has formally requested de-registration from Manchester United, a move that would make the 15-year-old a free agent, with sources close to his family pointing to the club’s sustained decline since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 as the central motivation.

According to the Daily Mail, a source close to the Gabriel family described United as now “far away” from the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City. The source added: “His dad has ambitions for his son to be the best in the world and play with the best and learn from the best and right now that’s not the current situation at United — far from it.”

Gabriel and his family have already travelled to Barcelona for talks and have also been in contact with Real Madrid, signalling that concrete alternatives are being explored. The teenager refused to train with United’s first team last week ahead of the League Cup defeat to Brighton, a match in which he had been expected to feature in the squad. He has since not trained with any of the United teams he is registered with.

Further frustration reportedly stemmed from his omission from the squad for United’s 4-0 home victory over Sabah in the Champions League, a decision that angered those in his camp.

The original pathway for Gabriel at Old Trafford had been to sign a first-year scholarship upon turning 16, which would have triggered a first professional contract on his 17th birthday. That plan now appears to be in jeopardy. His current arrangement with the club expires at the end of the season, and United are refusing to terminate it early. Gabriel’s representatives are said to be considering taking the matter to a tribunal with FIFA or the Premier League if the club does not relent.

United manager Michael Carrick has urged caution around the public handling of the situation. “He’s a young boy, JJ, and I think it’s important that we certainly don’t play anything out here,” Carrick said. “The exposure and the scrutiny and everything, you’ve got to be careful and be sensible and think of him as much as anything. So the situation will work itself out, whatever way it’s going to work itself out. Making sure he’s okay is the important thing.”