The agent at the centre of JJ Gabriel's Manchester United exit saga

JJ Gabriel has never played a minute of first-team football for Manchester United, yet his future is dominating headlines across Europe. The winger turned 16 on Tuesday, and because he holds an EU passport, he can now formally agree a deal with a club inside the European Union.

Gabriel’s exit from Carrington had been building for weeks. United had integrated him into pre-season, including an appearance against Atletico Madrid in Stockholm, and he continued training with the senior squad once the campaign began. In the Premier League 2, he scored twice and registered two assists against Ipswich Town and Leicester City, then followed that with a hat-trick against Sabah FK in the UEFA Youth League.

That hat-trick proved to be his last appearance for the club. Shortly afterwards, Gabriel’s representatives informed United that he wanted to leave, with his camp unhappy that he had not been included in the Champions League squad for the Sabah FK fixture. United had planned to hand him his senior debut in the Carabao Cup against Brighton, but before that could happen the then-15-year-old left Carrington and began training in Castelldefels, Barcelona.

With Gabriel now 16, the transfer market has opened up around him. Barcelona sporting director Deco recently insisted the Catalan club were not pursuing a move, but it is understood Barca are among those monitoring the situation, alongside Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea are also reported to be interested.

The man who will shape what happens next is agent Ali Barat. Born in Iran and raised in London, Barat represented 15 transfers in the 2025 summer window alone. His most high-profile deals include Dean Huijsen’s move from Bournemouth to Real Madrid and Nicolas Jackson’s switch from Chelsea to Bayern Munich. Barat runs Epic Sports, an agency with scouts operating across Europe, Africa and South America, and has been named Best Agent twice.

Barat has spoken publicly about a childhood obsession with Championship Manager — later rebranded Football Manager — and credits that passion for unearthing talent with shaping his approach as an agent. His agency is not shy about its record: after completing Jackson’s transfer, Epic Sports issued a press release declaring, “Where others react, he builds. Where others stall, he delivers.”

How Barat navigates Gabriel’s next move will be one of the more closely watched transfer stories of the coming months, with some of European football’s biggest clubs circling a teenager who is yet to make his professional debut.