Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs has made a plea to JJ Gabriel, comparing his career trajectory to Arsenal starlet Max Dowman.
Exit imminent
Gabriel is believed to be on the brink of sealing a permanent switch to Real Madrid after officially requesting to leave United in September.
The teenager and his family shocked United by demanding to leave the club with immediate effect. He has not trained at the club since then and has been following his own individual programme.
The player and those close to him are pursuing historical records and believe that he should already be playing for the first team. Claims have been made that they wanted United to play him against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup and against Sabah FK in the Champions League.
United made efforts to keep him but they have been unsuccessful. A recent report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that the Red Devils have been unable to establish contact with Gabriel’s camp.
He was pursued by several top European clubs but Real Madrid are set to win the race for his signature.
This has been further reaffirmed by Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, who wrote on X, “BREAKING | JJ Gabriel and his camp are progressing in negotiations with Real Madrid. It’s close.”
“Verbal agreement reached, as reported. Medical not yet scheduled. The 16 y/o gem has decided to join Real over Bayern, PSG and Barcelona.”
“Move planned for January 1st thanks to his European passport. Manchester United will only receive training compensation.”
🚨🆕 BREAKING | JJ Gabriel and his camp are progressing in negotiations with Real Madrid. It’s close.
Verbal agreement reached, as reported. Medical not yet scheduled. The 16 y/o gem has decided to join Real over Bayern, PSG and Barcelona.
Move planned for January 1st thanks to his European passport. Manchester United will only receive training compensation. #MUFC @SkySportDE 🏴 https://t.co/eySVIjc1qq
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) November 5, 2026
| Player | Nationality | Pos | United career | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Giggs | Wales | MF | 1991–2014 | 963 | 168 |
Giggs, who also began his career as a highly rated prospect in United’s academy, has urged Gabriel to remain at Old Trafford and be patient for opportunities. He likened Gabriel’s situation to Dowman’s at Arsenal.
Giggs’ plea
The United legend said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, “So far in his career everything is going fine, why would you disrupt that? You’re on the right track.”
“I trained at 15, I didn’t play for the first team until two years later so you have to have that patience that people just don’t seem to have at the moment.”
“And believe it or not, first-team football for Man United is completely different to playing in the youth team, playing pre-season for the first team, it’s completely different. That first game, yeah, you might do alright, but you have to do it for 40, 50 games a season.”
Giggs added, “You’re going to get injuries, loss of form, bad results, so you have to be patient. Max Dowman is unbelievable but he’s not playing for Arsenal at the moment.”
“I’m sure he’ll bide his time, I’m sure he’s getting impatient, but he’s not kicking off, he knows in a couple of years time he might be the main man for Arsenal.” Manchester United return to action on Sunday when they host Aston Villa.
Featured image by Charles McQuillan via Getty Images
