The England youth international has made his preference plain by rejecting the French champions’ sweetened offer, with Spain understood to be his destination of choice. Real Madrid are now in pole position to land the attacker, who formally requested to leave Old Trafford in September.
Gabriel is no ordinary academy prospect. The 16-year-old swept both the Under-18 Premier League Player of the Season award and the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year prize for the 2025/26 campaign, according to Sky Sports, after becoming United’s youngest-ever Under-18 player at 14. He also figured in a pre-season friendly against Atlético Madrid in August.
Spain the preferred destination
The financial package at Real Madrid is reported to run beyond €10m across three years, covering both the economic terms and the sporting conditions sought by the player’s camp, per The People’s Person.
PSG improved both strands of their pitch in a renewed attempt to sway his family and representatives, according to Sports Mole’s report that broke the latest twist, only to be rebuffed.
Barcelona have been in talks too but are understood to be unwilling to match the overall package. Bayern Munich fell away earlier in the chase. The common thread in the reporting is a clear family preference for playing in Spain.
A £350,000 hit for United
For Manchester United, the economic cost is severe. Because Gabriel has not signed a professional contract and intends to move abroad, the club would receive only training compensation under FIFA rules, reportedly around £350,000. That is a modest payment relative to the sums a prospect of his standing would attract in open-market trading.
He has been training away from Carrington since lodging his request, and his family’s position is said to be that returning to Under-21 football is beneath where his development should be.
A move is expected to be finalised when the European transfer window opens on 1 January 2027, the point at which the administrative route becomes available. FIFA regulations on the international transfer of minors still have to be navigated, as the rules generally prohibit cross-border moves for players under 18, with narrow exemptions including moves between European Union member states.
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