Manchester United's 14-year-old Messi scored again! Ronaldo recognized the genius, and his father did not hesitate to change his surname in order to make him successful

Manchester United's Under-18s have already missed out on winning the title this season, but fans still have a reason to be excited about the performance of Joseph Junior Andreou Gabriel. In last week's 4-0 thrashing of Stoke City's youth team, Gabriel found the back of the net again.

In stoppage time, Gabriel cut inside from the left and fired a low shot into the bottom right corner of the net to make it 4-0. He had other contributions to the game, with another similar shot hitting the crossbar and hitting an own goal for United's third.

In just 46 minutes in the two Under-18 games he has played in across divisions, Gabriel has already scored three goals.

On his debut for Manchester United's under-18 team, Gabriel scored a brace to set a record for the youngest player to represent the Under-18s in team history.

In fact, as early as the age of nine, the Manchester United Academy talent was already in the spotlight, and he was dubbed "Kid Messi" on the video site "YouTube".

According to the data, Gabriel grew up in London, the capital of England, and played in the youth training of Chelsea, Arsenal and West Ham United. As a child, he played both futsal and 11-a-side games to hone his skills. It is said that at the age of 6, he spent only a week training on juggling, and after a week he was already able to juggle 1,000 balls in a row, and quickly became the best player in matches against players older than him.

But in Manchester United's youth system, there have been many new Messi and new Ronaldo over the years, and they all disappeared in the end. What really made Gabriel recognized by the fans was a little-known "Floodlight Cup" invitational tournament last September. In the game against Blackburn, Gabriel was knocked into the air in the opening five minutes, his shoulder was dislocated, and the team bandaged him.

Gabriel showed an amazing fighting spirit and, as the best player on the pitch, he didn't want to go off without scoring. The boy insisted on playing with a bandage, and the parents, scouts and coaches on the sidelines were stunned. But what made them even more stunned was yet to come, with one fan who was there recalling: "He injured his shoulder and then scored a hat-trick and provided an assist to a 4-0 victory. It's really remarkable!"

Gabriel's one-on-one coach, Alfie Brooks, said: "He was very jerky as a kid, but he was already full of fighting spirit. When he first started training, these were his most outstanding traits. Over the course of my career, I've managed almost 1,000 Academy players, with the four standout being Josie Nichols (Arsenal), Josie Achempong (Chelsea), Sidi Peck (Sheffield United) and Trick George (Chelsea), all making their Academy debuts. Gabriel is the best Academy player I've ever seen and he's by far the best I've ever seen. He'll be in the Premier League dressing room right now and he'll be technically better than everyone else and far ahead.'

This story illustrates one thing, Gabriel is not only a genius, but also a very strong spirit. Therefore, some youth observers believe that he may one day become Ronaldo instead of Messi, and he is more similar to Neymar than the Argentine king.

In fact, after Ronaldo returned to Manchester United, he also admired Gabriel. The Portuguese superstar's eldest son, Mini Ro, joined the club's academy at the same time as him, one holding the number 7 shirt and the other holding the number 10. The two also have a close relationship off the pitch and often play together at Ronaldo's villa. When Ronaldo fell out with Manchester United and left, he also gave Gabriel a signed jersey as a parting gift.

As Gabriel's fame grew, United were also worried, mainly worried that he would be poached. There are two key age groups in youth football, and players can be poached, at 14 and 16 years old, and Gabriel is in the previous window, so he posted a "waving" emoji on social media last month, which scared some fans.

According to the Daily Mail, several of Manchester United's Premier League rivals are eyeing Gabriel, and the biggest threat may come from Barcelona. The Spanish giants once invited Gabriel to visit the Camp Nou and asked Yamal to take a photo with him.

Gabriel holds an Irish passport, which allows him to play in EU member states from the age of 16, while England players have to wait until after the age of 18. This opens the door for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

A scout from rival Academy recently pointed out that United may be the biggest club in the UK and fits Gabriel's character, "but United have to be careful not to let him go wrong. They knew they had to fight to keep him."

A Manchester United Under-18 player has revealed that he was immediately "blown away" when he first saw 14-year-old Gabriel in training. Nick Cox, director of the Red Devils' academy, has received a report from his coach about Gabriel's rapid progress across age groups. He has contributed 15 goals and six assists in 13 games in various age groups this season, highlighting his extraordinary potential.

Former sporting director Dan Ashworth, who has been sacked by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is said to be Gabriel's biggest admirer, and although he is gone, other United hierarchy are also orchestrating various retention actions in the hope of convincing Gabriel to agree that Old Trafford is the best place for him.

Manchester United have offered Gabriel a box seat at Old Trafford for every first-team home game. Last season, at the age of 13, he was called in to prepare for the Under-18 Premier League Cup final, where he won a medal following the win over Manchester City. In February's FA Youth Cup quarter-finals, United eliminated Arsenal on penalties and Gabriel warmed up with Adam Lawrence's side.

Fans in Hong Kong, China, were among the first to watch Gabriel play in person, having played in an invitational tournament with Manchester United's under-16 team and was named the tournament's best player in front of 6,000 fans, with Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov presenting him with the award.

Gabriel is touted with the potential to become one of the best England players of all time, but United and others will have to manage his development carefully. So far, Gabriel's career has been planned by his family, whose father has always dreamed of developing him into a superstar.

Gabriel's father is former Ireland international Joe O'Cearuill, a player who lacked fame in his playing days and has a most illustrious history at Arsenal. He wanted his son to become a Chan and even changed his family name to Gabriel, partly to express their religious beliefs, but also to feel that the name was more recognizable.

The parents also decided to give Gabriel a private education at home to maximize his prospects in football. At the same time, he also follows a very strict diet to improve his athletic performance. As a result, at just 14 years old, he is already a true pro.

Gabriel made his England Under-15 debut in February. Everything he does, he gets a lot of attention. Many clubs are lining up to take him away from Manchester United, and many brands are also eyeing his soaring following on social media, with the young Gabriel already having more than 85,000 followers on one platform.

Over the past few months, many well-known sports brands have rushed to sign Gabriel. In Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League this season, Nike invited Gabriel as a guest of honor to sit in the reception box at Anfield Stadium. In Manchester United's draw with Chelsea, it was Adidas who invited him.

In February, Gabriel finally chose to sign one of the most sizable sponsorship deals for his age group with Nike. Nike representatives often watch Gabriel play, and they have paid for the United talent since he was 10 years old. A Nike insider said: "It was a very lucrative sponsorship deal, but the deal was thought to be a big success."

Nike thinks Gabriel will be a superstar. "He'll end up like Cristiano Ronaldo." The source predicted, "Keep scoring, scoring, scoring."