Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney said it would be disappointing if a top player like JJ Gabriel leaves the club. The youngster recently made a request to leave the club, and the news spread like wildfire.
After Gabriel scored a hat-trick for the Under-19s on his UEFA Youth League debut, he was expected to be included in the senior squad for the first time in a competitive match.
But Gabriel was not included in the squad for the third round of the Carabao Cup. United eventually suffered a 3-2 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion despite leading by 2-0 at one stage. On the eve of that game, it was reported that the teenager’s camp had made a request for him to leave the Old Trafford club.
“I have seen JJ grow up, he has been in [my son] Kai’s team,” Wayne Rooney told Stick To United on Disney+. “Anyone close to it knew that was coming.
“In fairness to Manchester United they have done everything, absolutely everything, to keep him at the club.
“The club have treated him probably differently to the other players because he is such a special player. I know, I recognise that, because I was that player at Everton. I was getting that treatment at Everton.
“As a club, you need to do [it] to try to keep the better players.
“It’s disappointing because he is such a top player and a lovely kid.
“You never know whether it’s gone too far or whether there is a chance for him to stay.”
Rooney showered praise on Gabriel and said the youngster has all the skills to go a long way in his career.
“He is a top player,” Rooney said of the 15-year-old. “His ability, his balance, he has shown he can go up the ages and score goals. The next step is first-team football where it’s different, and you never know until you’re in there.
“But he’s such a special talent who understands the game really well.
“At some point this season he would [have] made his debut for the first-team, I’d imagine, so that’s where it’s disappointing.”
According to ESPN, Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the clubs monitoring Gabriel’s standoff with Manchester United. Gabriel is eligible to sign scholarship forms after his 16th birthday, which is on Oct. 6.
