Ryan Giggs urges JJ Gabriel to reconsider Real Madrid move, points to Max Dowman

Former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has urged teenager JJ Gabriel to reconsider his decision to leave Old Trafford, saying the 16-year-old is rushing his development. Giggs also pointed to Arsenal prospect Max Dowman as a model of patience.

Gabriel wants a way out

Gabriel has told United he wants to leave after growing frustrated with his lack of first-team opportunities. He informed the club of his desire to depart in September and has not trained with the squad since. He was reportedly unhappy about missing senior fixtures against Sabah FK in the Champions League and Brighton in the Carabao Cup. He has now reached a verbal agreement to join Real Madrid.

Giggs stresses patience

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, Giggs said young players must learn to bide their time. He drew on his own route into the first team at United under Sir Alex Ferguson.

"So far in his career everything is going fine, why would you disrupt that? You're on the right track," Giggs said of Gabriel's situation.

"I trained at 15, I didn't play for the first team until two years later so you have to have that patience that people just don't seem to have at the moment," he added. Giggs went on to become the most decorated player in English football history, winning 34 trophies during a 24-year career in Manchester.

The demands of senior football

Giggs also warned Gabriel about the physical and mental demands of senior football at a top club. He said managing expectations over a gruelling campaign is a completely different challenge from youth football.

"First-team football for Man United is completely different to playing in the youth team, playing pre-season for the first team, it's completely different," Giggs said. "That first game, yeah, you might do alright, but you have to do it for 40, 50 games a season. You're going to get injuries, loss of form, bad results, so you have to be patient. If you're on the right trajectory then just bide your time, no matter how good you are."

The Max Dowman example

To illustrate his point, Giggs highlighted the path of Dowman. The Arsenal teenager made his senior debut under Mikel Arteta at just 15 but is now being carefully managed behind the scenes.

"Max Dowman is unbelievable but he's not playing for Arsenal at the moment," Giggs noted. "I'm sure he'll bide his time, I'm sure he's getting impatient, but he's not kicking off, he knows in a couple of years time he might be the main man for Arsenal."

Gabriel now faces a major decision about his immediate future. The prospect of a move to Madrid is clearly attractive, but he must decide whether he is ready for the demands of European football or whether to wait for his opportunity at Old Trafford.