JJ Gabriel is closing in on a move to Real Madrid as his long-running saga to leave Manchester United finally looks set to end.
While sources at United insist there has been no club-to-club contact, Gabriel, who is currently working with a personal trainer in Madrid, is in the process of finalising a move to the Spanish capital.
Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed Madrid’s growing confidence back in September and with Gabriel having now secured a European Union passport through his mother’s Cypriot heritage, sources familiar with the situation believe a switch is now imminent.
It is understood Gabriel will play for Madrid’s Castilla team, which plays in Spain’s third division, as well as in the Youth League, the competition which represented his final match in a United shirt when he scored a hat-trick against FK Sabah.
United were rocked in September when, following that game, Gabriel and his representatives made a bombshell request to have his academy contract torn up.
That request was immediately refused by United and while there was faint hope initially that a compromise could have been found to keep him at Old Trafford, he has stayed away ever since and is now set to land the move to Spain he has always wanted.
JJ Gabriel’s family believe United’s decline means their son must leave the club
Gabriel, who turned 16 last month, is one of the brightest young talents in the world and his eventual exit represents a huge loss to United.
As Daily Mail Sport previously reported, United’s decline since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson has been the driving force behind Gabriel’s family seeking an exit. United have not won a Premier League title since 2013.
A source close to the family explained that United are ‘far away’ from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, as well as domestic rivals Arsenal and Manchester City, and that they want him to ‘learn from the best’ to maximise his talents.
While there is some way to go to be lining up alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jnr and Jude Bellingham, the belief is that Gabriel, who is being guided by prominent agent Ali Barat, can realise his world-class potential in L aLiga.
READ MORE: The pushy father behind JJ Gabriel’s bombshell request to leave Man United