Who is JJ Gabriel’s Dad, and Why Does Everyone Think He’s Such a Dick?

Who is JJ Gabriel’s Dad, and Why Does Everyone Think He’s Such a Dick?

Other than the controversy surrounding the Manchester derby at the weekend, the biggest story surrounding Manchester United at the minute is JJ Gabriel.

15-year old JJ Gabriel is reportedly looking to quit Manchester United as he doesn’t feel appreciated at the club. The wonderkid is wanted by many clubs all over the world and is looking to terminate his deal immediately. However, the Red Devils are hoping to resolve the issue and not allow the youngster to leave the club.

🚨🔴 JJ Gabriel has formally asked to leave Manchester United by terminating his contract.

15 year old wonderkid, wanted by all the top clubs in the world — not only in England. 👀

JJ asked for immediate termination, as @TimesSport reported.

Manchester United still hopeful to… pic.twitter.com/YE3LNyxiIq

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 15, 2026

As you can imagine the youngster has been getting some stick online following the news as, at such a young age, it is quite a big statement to make and something that fans argue he doesn’t deserve to demand.

However, it is his father who has been getting most of the hate online as it seems as if he isn’t a very good influence on his son’s career. His reputation at the academies in London is terrible as when JJ was just 9-years-old he reportedly drove him home mid match as he wasn’t given the No.10 shirt. He also demanded that his son was playing at least a year up in any academy he has been at throughout his career.

This doesn’t also take into account that he had his name changed to JJ Gabriel as he believed it would make the young star more marketable.

JJ Gabriel’s dad renamed his son from Joe O’Cearuill (Joe Carroll) to JJ Gabriel so he could be more marketable #JJsFathersFiles pic.twitter.com/AjpPbkGANV

— Z (@ZAYN_Z7) September 15, 2026

This is quite contradicting as JJ was set to make his debut for Manchester United this week in the EFL Cup until his father decided to get involved. For a while he has been demanding that his son has first team minutes and just as that was set to happen and make history he decided to get his son to act out and refuse to train with the team.

This is a great example as to why it is important to have the right support group around you as a footballer as if you get led by the wrong people then you could make some costly mistakes which could impact your career. Ironically, despite trying to make his son more ‘marketable’ he has made him less wanted as his attitude will put clubs off as it doesn’t look like he would be a good fit in dressing rooms.