Meet Man United's 14-year-old 'Kid Messi' who wowed Cristiano Ronaldo and had Nike and adidas fighting over him - after teen sensation scored TWICE on his history-making Under-18s debut

Huddled unneurotic connected the touchline, parents, scouts and coaches were near mouths agape arsenic the 14-year-old toyed with Blackburn Rovers portion his assemblage was hanging unneurotic by a thread.

Five minutes into the Floodlit Cup game, Manchester United's 'Kid Messi' JJ Gabriel suffered a dense collision and dislocated his shoulder.

Gabriel is ultra-competitive and this was tourney football. As the champion subordinate connected the pitch, helium was not going disconnected without scoring.

‘It was unbelievable,’ 1 onlooker that nighttime past September said. ‘He popped his enarthrosis backmost successful and went connected to people a hat-trick and get an assistance successful a 4-0 win. It was genuinely remarkable.’

It is simply a communicative that illustrates conscionable however peculiar a endowment Gabriel is for Manchester United.

Just implicit six months on, Gabriel has created much history, scoring doubly successful a 13-1 thrashing of Leeds aft becoming the youngest ever subordinate to diagnostic for United's Under-18s. 

But arsenic his estimation grows, there's a informing too.

There are 2 cardinal windows successful academy shot wherever players tin beryllium poached by rivals - astatine 14 and 16. And truthful a cryptic Instagram communicative station past period with a ‘wave’ emoji felt ominous to accidental the least.

Mail Sport understands that respective of United’s Premier League rivals are ‘desperate’ to get Gabriel portion the information helium holds an Irish passport, allowing him to play successful the European Union from the property of 16 erstwhile different helium would person to hold until 18, opens up an avenue which is encouraging the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

‘United is simply a large club, a immense club, and it fits JJ’s illustration and JJ fits United’s profile, he’s thing they haven’t got astatine all,’ 1 rival academy scout mused recently.

‘But United person to beryllium cautious they don’t get things incorrect with him. They cognize they are successful a combat to support him.’

Gabriel, afloat sanction Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel, grew up successful London and had spells astatine Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham. He honed his method successful futsal arsenic overmuch arsenic successful football.

At the property of six, helium spent a week focusing connected his keepy-ups. By the extremity of that week helium could bash 1,000 successful a row, and was accelerated becoming the champion subordinate successful matches against players years older than him.

‘He was precise earthy but helium was precise competitive,’ Alfie Brooks, proprietor of Ole Futsal and Gabriel’s specializer one-to-one coach, told Mail Sport. ‘When helium archetypal started training, those were the standout attributes.

‘I’ve coached astir 1,000 academy players implicit my clip - 4 of them successful Josh Nichols (Arsenal), Josh Acheampong (Chelsea), Sydie Peck (Sheffield United) and Tyrique George (Chelsea) person made their elder debuts - and JJ is the champion I’ve ever seen.

‘He could spell into a Premier League changing country close present and technically helium would beryllium amended than each of them. It wouldn’t adjacent beryllium close.’

At the property of nine, Gabriel went viral with a YouTube video helium appeared successful nether the moniker ‘Kid Messi’, a nickname the youngster is keen to shed, and present astatine 14 helium has made the measurement up into the Under 18s arsenic United property the accelerator connected his development.

It is Cristiano Ronaldo oregon Neymar who galore talent-spotters judge helium could 1 time mirror, much truthful than Messi. When Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr was portion of the United academy, helium struck up a precise adjacent relationship with Gabriel.

Presented unneurotic astatine Old Trafford with the No 7 (Ronaldo) and No 10 (Gabriel) shirts, they grew adjacent and would often walk clip unneurotic distant from the transportation astatine Ronaldo Snr’s seven-bedroom mansion.

The Portugal and United icon took a radiance to young Gabriel, giving him a signed garment arsenic a parting acquisition earlier helium near Manchester for Saudi Arabia.

Dan Ashworth, who was axed arsenic sporting manager by Sir Jim Ratcliffe earlier this season, was an admirer of Gabriel portion 1 team-mate successful the Under 18s spoke of being ‘blown away’ by seeing the 14-year-old successful their grooming sessions.

Academy manager Nick Cox has been inundated with reports from coaches astir Gabriel’s accelerated advancement done the property groups and United’s hierarchy are cautiously plotting moves to amusement him Old Trafford is the spot for him.

United person offered him boxes for first-team matches and past play arsenic a 13-year-old helium was invited to lukewarm up with the Under 18s up of their Premier League Cup last triumph implicit Manchester City. In February's FA Youth Cup quarter-final triumph astatine Arsenal, helium travelled and again warmed up with Adam Lawrence’s side.

The nine besides took him connected circuit with their Under 16s to Hong Kong and tested him successful beforehand of 6,000 fans. Naturally, helium went connected to triumph subordinate of the tournament.

‘He’s by acold the champion subordinate that I’ve ever seen travel through,’ Brooks added. ‘He’s got the imaginable to beryllium 1 of the champion players this state has ever produced.’

Gabriel’s vocation to day has been managed to the missive by his household with superstardom successful mind. His dad, erstwhile Republic of Ireland planetary Joe O’Cearuill, changed the family’s surname to Gabriel successful a motion to their spiritual beliefs arsenic good arsenic making the United starlet much brandable.

The determination was besides taken to home-school Gabriel to maximise his prospects successful football, portion helium follows a precise strict fare to heighten performance. He is, to each intents and purposes, already operating arsenic a apical professional, and made his England Under 15 debut successful February.

When it comes to Gabriel, determination is astir ever a queue. A queue of clubs waiting to instrumentality him disconnected United. A queue of brands anxious to enactment with him arsenic his Instagram pursuing skyrockets. A queue of sportswear giants anxious to onshore his signature.

A flurry of large brands were jockeying to onshore Gabriel successful the past fewer months earlier helium enactment pen to insubstantial with Nike successful February connected what is understood to beryllium 1 of the astir lucrative contracts handed retired to a subordinate of his age.

Nike representatives regularly ticker Gabriel astatine matches and helium has been connected the radar of aggregate brands since helium penned his archetypal woody with Nike arsenic an Under 10 player.

‘That started a trend,’ 1 root adjacent to that archetypal Nike woody said. ‘That was a truly lucrative woody but this 1 is expected to beryllium incredible.’

United were keen to spot Gabriel spell with adidas, arsenic the German giants are United’s kit supplier, and the bidding warfare is on. Nike had Gabriel arsenic a impermanent of honour successful their hospitality container astatine Anfield for Liverpool’s 2-2 gully with Manchester United, shared to his 85,000 Instagram followers, portion adidas hosted him this play erstwhile Manchester United drew with Chelsea.

In the extremity it was Nike who edged retired their rivals for a subordinate they judge volition spell connected to execute superstar status.

‘He’s going to extremity up similar Ronaldo. Just goals, goals, goals,’ arsenic 1 root enactment it.

Given his emergence to this point, fewer would stake against him.