According to the Manchester Evening News, 15-year-old Manchester United academy prospect JJ Gabriel has expressed a desire to leave the club, a decision that has shocked the organization internally. Manchester United had previously planned an accelerated development program for him and was preparing to include him in the squad for the Brighton match, with the goal of him breaking the club's record for youngest player, but that plan will not now come to fruition.

Last week, Gabriel scored a hat-trick against Shabab Al Ahli's youth team. When he returned to the dressing room at Carrington, he still had a beaming smile on his face. After the match, academy coach Adam Lawrence praised Gabriel and said his current form was "excellent". But just an hour later, Gabriel deleted his social media accounts.

All references to Manchester United were removed from his bio, leaving only "nikefootball". This suggested that things could be changing, so Tuesday's shock news that Gabriel wanted to leave Manchester United did not come entirely without warning. Nevertheless, the news shocked Manchester United. There is confusion within the club about why Gabriel would submit a transfer request at this moment, especially since Manchester United had planned to include him in the squad for the Brighton match the following evening, with a potential debut for the first team. Had he played, he would have become the youngest player in Manchester United's history.

Given the length of his contract, Manchester United still believes the current situation can be resolved. Gabriel cannot be released now, but he will have the option to leave next summer, and the club does not want to lose him. After Gabriel expressed his desire to go, an insider believes the situation might still be salvaged by one thing – money. However, whether this will be enough to keep Gabriel, and how much Manchester United is willing to offer, remains to be seen.

Manchester United believes the club has done everything to show Gabriel that he has a clear pathway to the first team. He has been promoted as part of an accelerated development plan and has received unprecedented support for a player his age.

This began on the day Gabriel arrived at Manchester United. At that time, the club arranged for him to appear in Old Trafford's press conference room with Cristiano Ronaldo's son, one of many special arrangements Manchester United made to make him feel valued. When Gabriel was very young, Manchester United arranged for him to speak with Marcus Rashford. The club also arranged a meeting with Ruben Amorim at Carrington, a brief conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, and invited his family multiple times to the directors' box to watch matches.

After Gabriel met Amorim, a photo of the two circulated on social media. Amorim, who was Manchester United's manager at the time, was unhappy that Gabriel's father publicly shared the photo. The photo was later deleted, but had already spread widely online. Manchester United always knew that, no matter what the club did for Gabriel, it might not be enough to keep him. Gabriel's father, a former professional player whose career was cut short by injury, has always dreamed that his son will one day play for Barcelona and become a star.

The Manchester Evening News revealed in April 2025 that Gabriel was on the verge of making his U18 debut for Manchester United at just 14 years old. A few months later, he was on the verge of leaving Manchester United. Had it not been for a last-minute meeting, he would have left the club at that time.

Shortly after that meeting, the Manchester Evening News revealed that Manchester United's Football Director Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada both attended, reflecting the importance the club's top leadership placed on Gabriel. Given Gabriel's age at that time, what happened in this meeting was extraordinary. Manchester United emphasized to him again that he could become an iconic figure for the club in the future, while also promising other special arrangements. In the end, all parties agreed that Gabriel would remain at Manchester United, and one of the key factors that encouraged him to stay was his own desire to continue playing for the club.

According to sources, Gabriel had tears in his eyes that day and became very emotional at the thought of leaving Manchester United. Gabriel enjoyed playing for Manchester United and was also very close to some of his academy teammates. Manchester United staff were always impressed by his politeness and humility. Ultimately, however, a young player at the start of his career will always rely on his family and advisors.

Now Gabriel's team has decided to try to leave Manchester United. They can do so next summer, but Gabriel's current contract expires at the end of this season, so the demand for Manchester United to release his registration and make him a free agent now seems highly unusual. However, looking back at the series of events that preceded this, there are some clues as to why he made this request.

The Manchester Evening News reported in March this year that Gabriel would have the opportunity to participate in first-team activities during the preseason. The youngster was included in the first-team squad for the first time when Manchester United travelled to Trondheim to play Rosenborg. Manchester United ultimately won 5-0 against Rosenborg, but Gabriel did not play. Nevertheless, he was still very excited to be with the team. When he left the stadium after the match, someone congratulated him on being included in the first-team squad, and he politely replied: "Thank you."

Afterwards, he also shared a special moment with his mother by taking a photo together in his kit. Michael Carrick later substituted Gabriel on in the preseason friendly against Atlético Madrid in Stockholm, which was his first-team debut in a friendly. This time the youngster seemed equally pleased. But for his entourage, the fact that this was his only playing time during the entire preseason was a different matter.

The various special arrangements Manchester United had previously made for him were important in demonstrating the club's appreciation, but actual first-team playing time was even more crucial. There was always the suspicion that Gabriel's father wanted his son to be one of the youngest players in football history to make a debut.

Ethan Nwaneri made his Premier League debut at 15 years and 181 days, Max Dowman at 15 years and 235 days, and Jeremy Munga at 15 years and 271 days; these three are among the youngest players ever to play in the Premier League. Last season, Gabriel was not yet old enough to play in the Premier League. However, by Manchester United's first Premier League match of this season against Hull City, he was already 15 years and 320 days old.

With Hull City leading 2-0 at halftime, that match was not a realistic or appropriate opportunity for Gabriel to come on. But in the following match against Ipswich, one might have thought it was an opportunity to give him playing time when he was 15 years and 328 days old. Had Gabriel been substituted on that day, he would have become the fourth-youngest player in Premier League history, and his camp believes his talent is even greater than that of Nwaneri, Dowman, and Munga.

Manchester United believes the club has done everything to prove to Gabriel that he is an important part of the team's future plans. He had the chance to become the youngest player in Manchester United's history in the Brighton match on Wednesday evening, but he will not have that opportunity now. At the same time, however, this also means that the compensation the club can receive will be reduced if Gabriel ultimately leaves Manchester United.

Since the Brighton match was originally the first opportunity to include Gabriel in an official match-day squad, and the club was aware of the immense media attention surrounding this player, Carrick had prepared to answer questions about Gabriel at the pre-match press conference. However, this press conference took place after the Manchester Derby. Because Manchester United had just lost a controversial match against Manchester City, no reporters asked about Gabriel at that time, and the situation of the 15-year-old had not yet become the focus of attention.

But after the Brighton match, Carrick will almost certainly be asked about Gabriel's current situation. It may seem crazy that the future of a 15-year-old player could cause such a stir, but JJ Gabriel is no ordinary 15-year-old player.

Übersetzt von KI.

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