Man Utd news LIVE: JJ Gabriel latest as new deadline set after 'agreement reached'

Manchester United were forced to fork out over £8million to sack Ruben Amorim - but still managed to save millions.

The Portuguese coach left Old Trafford in January this year following a disappointing 14-month spell with the club. United's accounts have now confirmed how much they had to pay to cut that deal short.

United have confirmed their exceptional items for the year were £8.2m, which is made up by the severance package that they agreed with their former boss, as well as his coaches Carlos Fernandes, Adelio Candido, Emanuel Ferro and Jorge Vital.

Despite that eye-watering amount, United have not actually been hit with as severe a bill as first expected. Amorim’s initial severance package was around £16.7m but that would be significantly reduced should he find a new job.

United have begun selling a 7cm cube of Old Trafford turf for £125 and, unsurprisingly, it has split opinion among supporters.

The product description labels it a 'priceless memento' but not everyone is convinced.

One fan wrote on X: "That is absolutely embarrassing, I'm ashamed we got to this point," while another took the opposite view, replying: "What a cool thing to own as a fan. People will moan about anything."

Personally, I can see both sides.

£125 for what is essentially a small cube of grass sounds slightly absurd at first glance, but if you've got the disposable income and want a genuine piece of Old Trafford in your house, it's a pretty unique keepsake.

That said, I'm not entirely sure I'd be rushing to explain that purchase to my bank account.

Former Man United striker Louis Saha has urged Real Madrid and Barcelona to steer clear of highly-rated youngster JJ Gabriel amid growing interest in the teenager.

He said: "Barcelona and Real Madrid should stay away from JJ Gabriel. I don’t think it is good for the game or the nature of the industry. It seems a terrible message to other young players and their advisors too. Success in football needs patience. You need to work for the opportunity and wait for it to come and then, after you’ve played the games and made that impact, it’s a different conversation.

"Doing really well in the academy, that’s great, but it means nothing in the first team. You don’t get to walk in straight away and replace senior professionals like Matheus Cunha or Bryan Mbeumo or whoever else. That is completely unrealistic and it places too much pressure on a young player. He is the son of a former footballer too. They should know better than to put all this risk on him so early.

"Look at Martin Odegaard. He had all the skills. He looked like he could do it all. He went to Real Madrid and never got his chance. Sometimes you need to protect these players from themselves and their advisors. I can’t understand how they don’t see that for themselves."

He added: "Can JJ Gabriel leave Man United and make an impact at another club as Paul Pogba did at Juventus, or like Jadon Sancho when he left Man City for Borussia Dortmund? I think he is in the sort of position on the pitch where it would be a bit easier to make that breakthrough playing as a forward. In that part of the pitch, you can make mistakes and it is fine. He is not a defender where those mistakes can hurt the team more.

"We saw it with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United when he was young but he was not as young as JJ Gabriel. This is a different situation. There are always exceptions that can be made but the Premier League is a physical competition and JJ Gabriel will get special attention from teams and that will be very hard on him, physically and mentally, no matter what his trajectory could be.

"Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho were good examples in the past but where are they now in the game? They are no longer in the frame. Not everyone can be Wayne Rooney. He was mature at 16. He had the physique of a monster. JJ Gabriel is not that sort of player, and he will get targeted."

Club legend Wayne Rooney has claimed that a move to Spain could be on the cards for JJ Gabriel, with the youngster's exit from the club an open secret to those close to the situation.

Speaking on Disney+'s Stick to United, Rooney said: "I think that anyone close to it knew that was coming. In fairness to Man United, they've done everything, they've done absolutely everything to keep him, to keep him at the club.

"I think it's been known that there's been a desire to go and play probably in Spain, I think, I might be wrong, but this is what you've heard over the years. The club have treated him probably differently to the other players because he is such a special talent.

"I know, I recognise, I understand that because I was that player at Everton and I was getting that treatment at Everton which was you're getting a bit more, your parents get given stuff, you're getting that special treatment more than the other players are getting. Which as a club you need to do to try and keep your better players.

"It's just disappointing, of course, because he is such a top player and he's a lovely kid. So you never know whether it's gone too far and whether there is a chance to stay. But I think everyone close to it has probably known that that was going to come."

JJ Gabriel reportedly wants to leave Man United because his family believe the club has fallen way behind their rivals and his development would be better served elsewhere.

The Daily Mail says the fact that United are 'far away' from Barca, Real, Bayern, Arsenal and Manchester City part of the reasoning behind the decision to push for an exit. Gabriel's family want him to 'learn from the best' by playing for a better team.

United have not won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 and currently sit 12th in the table following the 1-1 draw against Fulham on Sunday. They have won just one of their five league games this season and have already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup.

Were he to stay in the UK, Gabriel is reportedly keen on Chelsea, even though he would have to wait until January to join the Blues after they were banned from registering new academy players for nine months in March. However, he has also held talks with Barcelona and Real Madrid and would be eligible to play in Spain thanks to his Irish EU passport.

It currently seems very unlikely he will sign a scholarship deal when he turns 16 next month, potentially sparking a bitter dispute over his future.

Manchester United recorded record revenues in their latest financial results. Despite recording a full year operating profit of £22.6million, United once again posted an overall loss for the year of £43m, compared to £33m the year before.

United's revenue, however, rose by 1.7 per cent compared to 2024/25, which the club believe shows they are on the right track given they had no European football and no training kit sponsor in place. In total, United posted record revenues of £677.6m, up from £666.5m in the previous full year.

United Chief Executive Officer Omar Berrada said: "We are pleased to have secured record revenues and adjusted EBITDA which demonstrates the underlying strength of our business, particularly in a season without European football. This shows the direct impact of the work we have been doing over the past two years. It also proves Manchester United’s enduring popularity and commercial strength. While these results confirm that we are on the right trajectory, we will continue to take a disciplined approach to ensure our finances remain sustainable.

"With that financial sustainability in mind, we have strengthened both our men’s and women’s teams during the summer window and our men’s team has seen the return of Champions League football to Old Trafford. We have also strengthened commercially and have welcomed Betway as our new Training Kit partner and SumUp as our new Sleeve partner; two excellent organisations which we are delighted to be working with, alongside our kit supplier, adidas and front of shirt partner, Snapdragon.

"Our other main area of focus is our plan to develop a new 100,000 seater stadium. We have now completed the major milestone of securing the land which will form part of the proposed location of the new stadium."

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If he was to stay in England, it's been claimed Chelsea are the club he would choose, although the Blues would have to wait until January 2027, due to the fact they were banned from registering new academy players for nine months in March.

TEAMtalk have stated that out of every English club to reach out to him, the Blues' pitch was the most attractive. Young players are forbidden from signing a scholarship agreement until they turn 16 years old, which Gabriel will do on October 6.

If he was to move to Spain, United would be due a small windfall. This is due to rules allowing a 16-year-old with an EU passport to move to a team within the European Union. United would be entitled to a compensation payment, which is set by a tariff based on the number of years the player has spent at a club.

There have been examples of this happening in the past, when Arsenal signed Cesc Fabregas when he was a teenager as well as United bringing Gerard Pique to the club. However, it would be substantially less than the amount due if he joined an English club - a recent example of which was Rio Ngumoha's move from Chelsea to Liverpool, which cost a minimum of £2.8million.

Gabriel was dropped by all of the England youth teams amid the transfer saga this week. He missed out on a place with the under-19s and under-17s for the coming international break.

Super agent Ali Barat and his agency, Epic Sports, have positioned themselves as the clear frontrunners to manage Manchester United's 15-year-old wonderkid, JJ Gabriel.

Although players under the age of 16 cannot formally sign with an agent until they qualify for scholarship terms, Barat has already taken charge by facilitating major talks between Gabriel's family and European giants Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Barat is the founder and owner of football agency Epic Sports, which has rapidly risen to become one of the most powerful player agencies across top European football. Recognised for his prominent deal-making, Barat has been named the Best Agent at the prestigious Golden Boy awards multiple times, cementing his reputation as a top-tier power broker.

Beyond guiding emerging prospects, Barat's agency boasts an expansive roster of high-profile international talent. His notable primary clients include Aston Villa striker Nicolas Jackson, Tottenham attacker Xavi Simons and Real Madrid defender Denzel Dumfries.

Barat played a key role as a central intermediary in orchestrating Moises Caicedo's £115million move from Brighton to Chelsea in 2023. This landmark deal shattered records as the most expensive transfer in Premier League history at the time.

The founder of Epic Sports has brokered high-value moves across Europe’s major leagues in recent years, including Jackson’s loan move to Bayern Munich and Noni Madueke’s transfer to Arsenal. Furthermore, he played a key role in facilitating Dean Huijsen's move to Real Madrid, Romelu Lukaku's transfer to Napoli, and securing young Ecuadorian talent Kendry Paez for Chelsea.

Slovenia defender Jaka Bijol has told Benjamin Sesko to pay no attention to claims from former United midfielders Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt about his shin injury.

The former United duo appeared to cast doubt over Sesko’s injury on their podcast, The Good, The Bad and The Football. Scholes told Sesko: "If it isn’t broken, just wear your shinpads."

Butt added: "You’re a player – you either break your shin or you play!"

The Leeds defender, Bijol has backed Sesko: "I hope and believe that Beni knows how to distance himself from this kind of pressure.

"When things aren't going your best on the pitch and you have certain doubts, reading things like this can make your confidence even worse. He shouldn't pay too much attention to it, since we all know what quality he has.

"He himself knows what kind of footballer he is, and I think he always shows it with incredible things on the pitch."

Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have questioned the seriousness of a shin injury that continues to sideline Sesko at United.

The pair have also accused Michael Carrick of playing Matheus Cunha in a position that 'kills him' and makes him nowhere near as effective as he can be. Sesko, 23, missed the 1-1 draw with Fulham.

The striker felt pain in his shin during the Carabao Cup third round defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford. Cunha started up front in the absence of the Slovenia international. He scored United's late equaliser to earn a point.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Butt said: "Playing Cunha as a nine kills him. He's nowhere near the player he is off the side. We haven't got a number nine other than Sesko, other than (Joshua) Zirkzee, but he's been going, staying, going, staying. And when he does come on, he doesn't look anywhere near a Manchester United number nine."

Butt continued: "The biggest problem is the number nine. How can Man United have one centre forward? Who is injured, with what, a shin injury?"

Scholes added: "How do you injure your shin? Ain't that a broken leg? Can't you just put your shin pads on?"

His co-host then concluded: "You either break your shin, or you play. Put your shin pads on or your padding on, I don't quite get it. Without knowing what it is, it is hard to discuss it."

Man United striker Sesko has issued an apology while confirming that he has withdrawn from the Slovenia squad for the upcoming international matches.

Sesko's injury was a blow for United over the weekend, resulting in his absence from the squad that faced Fulham in the Premier League. Since Sesko did not feature against Fulham due to injury, doubts arose over whether he would be available to represent his country during the extended international break.

The 23-year-old has now issued an apology on social media after confirming that he will no longer be part of the Slovenia squad for their upcoming Nations League games.

"I am very sorry that I will have to miss the national team's upcoming matches. I have always played for Slovenia - and always will - with heart and pride,” Sesko wrote in a post on Instagram, translated from Slovenian.

"Right now, the most important thing is to focus fully on my recovery. I am already working on getting back on the pitch as soon as possible to help both the national team and my club once again.

"I believe in our guys, and I am certain that this time, too, they will display the team spirit that has always defined us. I can't wait to wear the national team jersey again; until then, I will be Slovenia's biggest supporter. Go Slovenia."

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