It appears Manchester United have lost out in their quest to keep JJ Gabriel.

The 16-year-old prospect asked to leave the club in September, triggering some of Europe’s biggest clubs to enter the race to win the playmaker’s signature.

Real Madrid have reportedly won that battle, reaching a verbal agreement to sign for the Spanish giants in the past few days.

In their attempt to hold onto one of football’s hottest wonderkids, Manchester United put their money where their mouth was.

The Red Devils offered JJ Gabriel a new scholarship contract, but seemingly made other promises behind the scenes.

One move the club made to convince the 16-year-old and his family that his future was best pursued in the North of England was offering him a box at the “future Old Trafford”, according to Spanish publication MARCA.

In an exclusive interview, JJ Gabriel told the outlet that his dream is to one day win the Ballon d’Or.

At the end of the piece, the website revealed that Manchester United, alongside a contract extension, offered Gabriel a box at the “future Old Trafford”.

With plans to build a new stadium, it appears the outlet is referencing the £2bn project that will fill around 100,000 fans, planned to be built by 2035.

The move has been met with backlash from fans, who protest that they would rather see a change of ownership than abandoning the Theatre of Dreams that is Old Trafford.

Offering JJ Gabriel a box at the new stadium has seemingly not worked, however.

The 16-year-old may just get his own suite at a stadium, but that’s more likely to be the Santiago Bernabéu, with a move surely formally completed in the coming weeks.