Because of Real Madrid and Barcelona: a final card that turns the situation upside down between United and its young star | Goal.com

Published on 23 Sep 2026 | Reading time: 2 minutes

Manchester United are considering escalating the crisis surrounding their young player JJ Gabriel, who has requested the termination of his registration with the club ahead of a departure, amid interest from a number of major European clubs in signing him.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed where talks over the youngster's future stand after Gabriel asked to cancel his registration at Old Trafford in order to leave the club with immediate effect.

Romano said earlier: "JJ Gabriel's team are in talks with clubs. I mentioned to you in all my videos this week that Real Madrid, Barcelona and other clubs are competing to sign him. Spain is the closest, but there are other clubs in the race."

He clarified: "This is the situation, Gabriel did not travel to Barcelona to negotiate directly with the club, or personally with Barcelona, or to sign with the Catalan club. That is not the case. They are talking, the player's camp, his family and his agents, to discuss the future."

According to the website "Football FanCast", Manchester United are weighing up legal action amid concerns over interference from outside parties in the player's case. At the same time, the club want greater financial compensation should Gabriel leave.

Gabriel, aged 15, has officially asked to cancel his registration with Manchester United. That step would allow him to seek a free exit once his ties with the club end.

United have refused to grant the request so far, insisting on keeping his registration until the end of the season.

English league regulations state that cancelling a player's registration during his contract requires the agreement of the club, the player and his guardian. If no agreement is reached, either party can request a binding decision from the league association on terminating the registration.

The crisis erupted after Gabriel came close to joining the first-team squad against Brighton in the League Cup, only for the club to be blindsided by his request to leave.

Several European clubs are chasing the player, most notably Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. His 16th birthday approaches on 6 October, opening the door to fresh developments in his future. That age will allow him to appoint an agent to manage his affairs and to leave, easing his departure, particularly as he holds a European (Irish) passport. He has received advice on his negotiations with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich from the famous players' agent Ali Barat, according to the same source.

Previous cases may strengthen Manchester United's demand for greater compensation. Fulham received 4.3 million pounds sterling plus 20% of the resale value of Harvey Elliott after his move to Liverpool in 2019. Liverpool themselves were later punished with a ban on registering academy players and a 100,000 pounds sterling fine over violations in recruiting a young player from Stoke City.

The snag for United is that Gabriel's likely destination falls outside the jurisdiction of the English bodies. That could hand FIFA the decisive say in setting compensation and ruling on any potential violations.

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