Manchester United retain JJ Gabriel registration amid reported departure request

Manchester United still hold JJ Gabriel's registration despite the teenage forward telling the club he wants to leave, BBC Sport reported on Monday. Gabriel appears in United's newly released official team photographs, but the report said efforts to resolve the dispute had not succeeded. He turns 16 on Tuesday.

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According to BBC Sport, the photographs are understood to have been taken on 8 September, two days before Gabriel's last appearance for the club. He scored a hat-trick against Sabah FK in the Uefa Youth League on 10 September. The report said he has not returned to United since that match, while noting that it was unclear whether anything significant happened afterwards.

Sources told BBC Sport that the decision to seek a departure followed Gabriel's omission from the senior squad for the Champions League meeting with Sabah that same day. He was not on United's Uefa A list, announced on 3 September, and therefore could not play in that fixture. The reasons for his exclusion from the registration list have not been made clear.

The report also described discussions about a possible substitute appearance against Brighton in the EFL Cup on 16 September. United officials maintained that this had been the plan, but Gabriel had already told the club he intended to leave and had gone abroad before the match. An appearance in either senior fixture would have made him United's youngest player.

Sources close to United told the BBC that the club had made several attempts to reconcile with Gabriel as part of their duty of care. United's position is that they communicated his importance to their first-team future and provided access to senior coaches and nutritionists. The club also regards his inclusion in the senior photograph as evidence of its commitment to his development.

Gabriel finished the 2025-26 season as the Premier League's Under-18 player of the year and received United's equivalent award. During pre-season, he played the final eight minutes against Atletico Madrid on 1 August but remained an unused substitute against Leeds and AC Milan. BBC Sport reported that no other club had approached United about him, leaving his registration with United and his next playing destination unresolved.