Barcelona sporting director Deco has dismissed the suggestion that the club is pursuing Manchester United teenager JJ Gabriel, saying there is “nothing to say” about the 15-year-old and that Barcelona are not involved in his situation.
“There’s nothing to say about this boy,” Deco said at a news conference. “It’s normal we always have players linked with us. There’s a huge market for that, even when they are young. We are not interested in any player in his situation. I’m not sure what’s happening, and if he’s still a Manchester United player. We are not involved in that.”
The Barcelona sporting director added that any club would first have to establish the facts before acting. “First of all, we need to understand how the situation is before we try to do something,” he said. “To speak about young, teenage players, it is not our business.”
Gabriel has been the subject of widespread speculation since he travelled to the Spanish city after informing United earlier this month that he wanted to leave. The teenager has not trained at United since scoring a hat-trick on his Uefa Youth League debut on 10 September, and Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain are among the clubs reportedly keen on securing his signature.
Tournament rules prevent him from playing for a side other than United in this season’s Uefa Youth League. If he obtains a European Union passport, however — through either his father, a former Republic of Ireland international, or his mother, who has Greek-Cypriot heritage — he could join a club in the EU when he turns 16 on 6 October.
Last week, United manager Michael Carrick urged people to be “careful and sensible” about the amount of exposure and scrutiny given to the youngster.