Ryan Giggs urges Manchester United prospect JJ Gabriel to be patient before Real Madrid move

Manchester United great Ryan Giggs has warned 16-year-old prospect JJ Gabriel not to jeopardise his development as he prepares to leave the club for Real Madrid.

Giggs, who made 963 appearances for Manchester United and won 34 major trophies, discussed Gabriel’s future on former team-mate Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel.

“Everything is going well in his career so far, so why spoil it?” Giggs said. “You are on the right path.”

Gabriel is reportedly close to formally joining Real Madrid in a deal worth about 15m euros.

Giggs said his own progress had required patience after he began training at senior level as a teenager.

“I trained at 15 and I didn’t play for the first team until two years later, so you have to have the patience that people seem not to have at the moment,” the Welshman said.

“Believe it or not, first-team football at Manchester United is completely different from playing youth football, or even playing in pre-season matches.”

The former Manchester United winger also stressed that excelling in one appearance would not be enough to establish a career at the highest level.

“You might do well in your first game, but you have to do it over 40 or 50 games in a season,” he said. “You are going to have injuries, loss of form and bad results, so you have to be patient.

“If you are on the right path, wait for your time, no matter how good you are.”

Giggs pointed to Arsenal youngster Max Dowman as an example for Gabriel to follow.

“Max Dowman is unbelievable, but he is not playing for Arsenal at the moment,” said Giggs. “I am sure he is waiting for his time, and I am sure he is getting impatient, but he is not rebelling.

“He knows that in two years’ time he could perhaps be a regular starter for Arsenal.”