JJ Gabriel might help Jude Bellingham move around the tough La Liga rules.
JJ Gabriel might follow in Jude Bellingham’s footsteps to help Real Madrid work around a tough La Liga rule.
Gabriel, just 16, told Manchester United last September that he wanted to leave, and now it looks like he’ll get his wish with a Real Madrid deal likely to happen in January.
His team hoped he could leave United right away as a free agent, but the club wouldn’t cancel his registration, which has slowed things down. Meanwhile, Gabriel has been training hard, even doing double sessions in Madrid and posing with the ‘MARCA’ newspaper.
According to AS, the signing is nearly complete and seen as “a done deal.” The Spanish paper also says Gabriel’s citizenship could really help Real Madrid in different ways.
Normally, FIFA rules don’t allow international moves for players under 18, but there’s an exception for those aged 16 to 18 — like Gabriel. Plus, he has EU nationality, which makes the transfer smoother.
Gabriel was born in England, but through his dad’s Irish roots and his mom’s Cypriot citizenship, he qualifies as an EU player. He still needs to get his passport, but that will be a big advantage for Real.
Jude Bellingham, who also plays for Real Madrid, is English but has an Irish passport too. This helped him qualify as an EU player even after the UK left the EU in 2020.
Bellingham got his Irish passport through his grandmother and chose to play for England, where he’s been amazing. In 2024, it was reported that he also successfully applied for an Irish passport, letting Real Madrid use a smart loophole to count him as an EU player.
La Liga only allows three non-EU players in matchday squads, with a maximum of five in the whole first team. Because Bellingham doesn’t take up a non-EU spot, Real can sign more non-EU players without going over their limit.
Similarly, Vinicius Jr got Spanish citizenship in 2022, freeing up another non-EU spot. Gabriel could do the same if he makes it to the first team one day.
For now, Gabriel is expected to join Real’s academy but can’t play in the UEFA Youth League for the Under-19s because he’s still registered with United.
It’s likely that Manchester United will only get a small training fee — around £300,000 — for Gabriel. FIFA’s rules say a fee is due when a player moves between clubs from different countries, but club-to-club moves inside England have different rules.
If Gabriel had joined a Premier League rival like Chelsea or Manchester City, the training fee could have been around £3 million.