JJ Gabriel reveals biggest reason behind quitting Man Utd for Real Madrid in eight-word statement

JJ Gabriel has broken his silence on an impending Manchester United exit as he prepares to join Spanish giants Real Madrid, with a key motivation behind the stunning switch.

The talented forward, who only turned 16 on October 6, informed Old Trafford chiefs of his desire to leave in September and has not trained with the club since then.

Since making his intentions clear, Gabriel has attracted interest from several clubs across Europe, but has now reached a verbal agreement to make the move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

The teenager joined United’s academy four years ago and quickly established himself as one of the hottest properties at Old Trafford, even featuring for the club’s Under-18s at the age of 14.

He also featured under Michael Carrick during the club’s pre-season camp. However, murmurings of a shock exit came after his entourage reportedly grew unhappy with Gabriel’s first-team integration and the likelihood of a lack of playing opportunities at United.

Gabiel, who has an Irish passport, could finalise a move to the Spanish giants as early as January 2027, with Man Utd reportedly set to receive £350,000 in compensation.

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JJ Gabriel reveals motivation behind joining Real Madrid

And in a brief interview with the Spanish outlet Marca, Gabriel revealed he has one particular goal in mind for his time with the Spanish giants

“My dream is to win a Ballon d’Or,” the 16-year-old said.

When asked about a potential move to Real’s bitter rivals Barcelona instead, Gabriel simply responded: “Obviously, Madrid.”

Gabriel, meanwhile, has been advised that he would have been better off staying at Old Trafford and biding his time before eventually breaking through, with Arsenal’s Max Dowman citing as an example he should have followed.

Indeed, Old Trafford legend Ryan Giggs told Rio Ferdinand Presents on YouTube: “So far in his career everything is going fine, why would you disrupt that? You’re on the right track.

“I trained at 15, I didn’t play for the first team until two years later so you have to have that patience that people just don’t seem to have at the moment.

“And believe it or not, first-team football for Man United is completely different to playing in the youth team, playing pre-season for the first team, it’s completely different. That first game, yeah, you might do alright, but you have to do it for 40, 50 games a season. You’re going to get injuries, loss of form, bad results, so you have to be patient.

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“If you’re on the right trajectory then just bide your time, no matter how good you are.

“Max Dowman is unbelievable but he’s not playing for Arsenal at the moment.

“I’m sure he’ll bide his time, I’m sure he’s getting impatient, but he’s not kicking off, he knows in a couple of years time he might be the main man for Arsenal.”