Barcelona’s Deco denies interest in Man Utd’s Gabriel

Barcelona's sporting director Deco has firmly denied the club's interest in signing Manchester United's teenage star JJ Gabriel, who recently expressed his desire to leave Old Trafford. The 15-year-old Gabriel had visited Barcelona earlier this month, but Deco stated at a press conference that the Catalan giants have "nothing to say about this boy."

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Paris St-Germain are reportedly interested in Gabriel, but Deco emphasized that Barcelona is not actively pursuing him. He added that "we are not interested in any player in his situation" and that they need to understand the boy's current status before considering any action. Gabriel has not trained with United since scoring a hat-trick in his UEFA Youth League debut on September 10th, and tournament rules prohibit him from playing for another club this season.

However, if he obtains a European Union passport through his father, a former Republic of Ireland international, or his mother, who has Greek-Cypriot heritage, Gabriel could join an EU club once he turns 16 on October 6th. United manager Michael Carrick recently advised fans to be "careful and sensible" about the amount of attention paid to the young player.