JJ Gabriel’s camp made three extraordinary Man Utd demands before he quit Carrington
JJ Gabriel’s representatives made quite the demand over his game time at Manchester United before deciding his future was best spent away from the club.
Gabriel’s team informed United earlier last month that he wanted to leave the club and offers from the giants of European football have come rushing in.
After training with the first team last season and playing under Michael Carrick during pre-season, Gabriel – or at least his family – grew frustrated at the 15-year-old not being handed his competitive debut.
He was in line for that debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup, but informed the club of his intention to leave on the eve of that game.
Gabriel has not trained at Carrington for more than two weeks, instead training on his own near Barcelona with the help of specialist local coaches.
He will turn 16 on Tuesday October 6, which could open the door to a move elsewhere in Europe.
Thanks to his Irish passport, Gabriel is eligible to join a club within the European Union, provided he receives the necessary approval from FIFA.
United legend Rio Ferdinand insisted his former club “can’t be seen to be weak” and bow to Gabriel’s demands, which – as now reported by the Manchester Evening News – were not insignificant.
It’s claimed that before submitting his request to leave, Gabriel and his family sought assurances over first-team opportunities and would have been placated through 20 minutes of action in each of their games against Sabah in the Champions League, Brighton in the Carabao Cup and in their clash against Bournemouth in the Premier League at the end of October.
At that point they would have entered discussions over a scholarship agreement, the report reveals.
Had Gabriel played against Sabah or Brighton he would have become the youngest player in Manchester United’s history. It was an extraordinary demand to make.
He’s a child
Addressing Gabriel’s future after United’s defeat to Brighton, Carrick said: “I just think we’ve got to be really careful of the whole situation.
“He’s a young boy, he’s 15 and the biggest (thing) for me definitely and as a club point of view is looking after our younger players. Their welfare, their wellbeing, their exposure.
“And I think all of us we’ve got to be really conscious of that, really, in this situation.
“As a club, for sure, we’re all involved in those conversations. I just think we’ve got to be very careful of that.”
