“Nothing to say about this boy”: Barcelona sporting director reacts to links with JJ Gabriel | OneFootball

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At the start of last week, news broke that JJ Gabriel had asked to leave Manchester United.

He wanted his registration revoked so he could leave.

But while the Red Devils were reportedly trying to persuade him to reconsider, a big bombshell dropped a few days later.

Reports said the teen prodigy was in Spain to discuss a potential move to Barcelona.

Those suggestions convinced some that the Camp Nou was his likely destination, but is that actually the case?

Barcelona address JJ Gabriel speculation

It might not be, given what Barcelona’s sporting director told Ben Jacobs.

Asked about reports that the Spanish champions are trying to sign Gabriel, Deco said:

“There’s nothing to say about this boy. It’s normal; we always have players linked with us. There’s a huge market for that, even when they [players] are young.

“We are not interested in any player in his situation. I am not sure what’s happening, and if he’s still a Manchester United player, we are not involved in that.

“First of all, we need to understand how the situation is before we try to do something. And to speak about young, teenage players, it is not our business.”

Real Madrid the biggest winners from these admissions

It is surprising to see Barcelona so bluntly deny any links to Gabriel, as it hands Real Madrid a clear boost in their bid to convince him to sign.

That said, beyond Barcelona and Real Madrid, Gabriel has plenty of suitors, with European heavyweights such as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain also following his situation closely.