JJ Gabriel Scores Hat-Trick on UEFA Youth League Debut, Becomes United's Youngest Scorer

JJ Gabriel, Manchester United's highly-rated 15-year-old academy forward, scored a hat-trick on his UEFA Youth League debut this week, becoming the club's youngest-ever scorer in the competition's history.

Nicknamed "Kid Messi" after his youth highlight videos went viral, Gabriel has been fast-tracked through United's age groups after becoming the youngest player ever to feature for the club's U18s at just 14. He already holds the record as United's youngest-ever scorer in FA Youth Cup history, netting the winner on his Old Trafford debut against Peterborough in December, and has been in electric form this season, including a hat-trick in a 7-0 demolition of Liverpool's U18s.

The milestone comes in the same week United's first team returned to senior Champions League action for the first time since December 2023, with the club's academy pathway continuing to produce standout performances alongside the senior side's European return. Gabriel, who signed a Nike boot deal at just 11 years old, remains too young to make his first-team debut this season under Premier League rules, but is tipped to break United's youngest-ever player record, currently held by David Gaskell since 1956, once he turns 16 this October.