Real Madrid close in on Man United's JJ Gabriel with Odegaard mistake fresh in mind

Real Madrid are closing in on the signing of Manchester United youngster JJ Gabriel, with the Spanish club determined to avoid repeating the mismanagement that derailed Martin Odegaard’s time at the Bernabeu more than a decade ago.

Gabriel, who has been absent from United’s training ground since requesting to have his registration cancelled in September, has since obtained a European Union passport — clearing the path for a move to a club outside England. Real Madrid are in pole position to complete the signing, having seen off reported interest from Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

The parallels with Odegaard are unavoidable. The Norwegian joined Real as a 15-year-old amid enormous fanfare, only to make just 11 first-team appearances across several loan spells before eventually leaving for Arsenal in 2021. Former manager Carlo Ancelotti later described the signing as a “PR exercise” by club president Florentino Perez, while Zinedine Zidane also gave the midfielder little opportunity. Most critically, Odegaard was handed a first-team contract but made to train with the club’s B side — a situation that bred resentment among teammates who knew he would not feature alongside them at weekends.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague believes Real have learned from that episode. Speaking on Match of the Day, he said: “The first thing is, what an experience for him to go abroad, learn another language, be in another football culture. Secondly, I think 16-year-olds are better prepared than ever to be able to do that in terms of intelligence and adaptation. And thirdly, they hope not to do the Odegaard thing of giving him a first-team contract but training with the B side. The B-side players were looking at Odegaard and saying, ‘I’m not going to pass the ball to this guy, at the weekend he isn’t going to play with us.’ I hope they get that right, but it’s a brilliant signing for Real Madrid.”

Gabriel’s departure from Old Trafford has been acrimonious. The teenager walked out after scoring a hat-trick for United’s academy side against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League in September, with his family unhappy about his development pathway. They had demanded he be included in the first-team squad for the Champions League fixture against Sabah and the Carabao Cup, as well as a Premier League debut. United refused, and subsequent attempts by the club to contact Gabriel’s family over welfare concerns were rebuffed.

Gabriel had been in line to become United’s youngest-ever first-team player in a Carabao Cup tie against Brighton before his family withdrew him from the club roughly three weeks before his 16th birthday. United still hold his registration, but with an EU passport now in hand, the legal route to a move abroad appears open.