JJ Gabriel, the 15-year-old Manchester United forward who has requested to leave the club, has fuelled speculation over his next move by following a host of Real Madrid players on social media. Gabriel, whose full name is Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel, has formally notified officials that he wants to cancel his registration with immediate effect and become a free agent.
Gabriel's social media activity hints at Real Madrid interest
The teenager's Instagram account now shows him following Real Madrid, their academy, and La Liga, as well as several members of the first-team squad. Among those he follows are Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Thibaut Courtois, Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eder Militao, Denzel Dumfries, Yan Diomande, Dean Huijsen, Arda Guler, and Endrick. He also follows Real legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.
Gabriel has been with United since the age of 11 and has drawn comparisons to Lionel Messi and Neymar for his performances at academy level. The Spanish giants are reportedly keen to beat arch rivals Barcelona to his signature, and his social media activity is seen as a potential hint towards his preference.
Eligibility and reasons for the exit request
Due to owning an Irish passport, Gabriel will be eligible to join a team in Europe when he turns 16 next month. English players, in contrast, are not allowed to move abroad until they turn 18. The teenager has also deleted every post from his Instagram page.
His desire to leave United stems from a lack of first-team minutes this season, despite it only being September. Gabriel's camp were reportedly unhappy after he was left out of Michael Carrick's squad to face Azerbaijani side Sabah in the Champions League last week. Before his request to leave, he had been in contention to feature against Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, but he will no longer be considered for a debut that would have made him United's youngest ever senior player.
Carrick's praise and the club's response
Carrick has previously praised Gabriel, having seen him score and provide two assists against Ipswich in a recent Premier League 2 fixture. "He's obviously got a really big talent," the United manager said. "He's trained with us quite a bit and is getting experience all the time. He's physically adapting to each step that he makes, and we're just continuing his development."
It remains to be seen whether United will accept Gabriel's request or attempt to resolve the situation.
