Inside Man United's toxic £30m transfer: The end of the Mason Greenwood saga
- Mason Greenwood is close to sealing a £30million switch to join Marseille
- He has not played for Manchester United since being suspended in January 2022
Mason Greenwood, dressed in his blue Manchester United polo shirt, smiled as he posed for photographs alongside his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after signing a long-term deal with the club he joined as a six-year-old.
It was October 2019.
Last week, the mayor of Marseille urged the French club not to touch the striker.
‘I do not want my club covered in shame,’ he said. How a career can veer off course.
Back in 2019, Solskjaer was excited about the 18-year-old, the most natural finisher at the club in his eyes. When Greenwood came on as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in March of that year, aged 17, he had become the second-youngest player to play for United in the Premier League, after Angel Gomes.
‘We believe he’s going to be important for us and to sign him now is great for us, but it must be great for the boy as well to know we believe in him and his future is here,’ said Solskjaer.
But Greenwood’s future now is in France after completing a £30million move to Marseille last night despite a fierce backlash.
Marseille confirmed the signing of Mason Greenwood from Man United on Thursday
Greenwood's Manchester United dream-turned-nightmare has come to an end
Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and assault, but never faced court
Furious United fans were vocal in their desire to never see him play for the football club again
The last four years could have been full of glee and goals for United. Instead, there have been a handful of highs — scoring 17 in a season for the first team — but mostly lows. Suspensions, a lengthy legal case, doubts over his professionalism, sponsors dropping him, breaking the law in Iceland while on England duty, a U-turn from United on reintegrating him into the squad... and now the mayor of Marseille.
Concerns around Greenwood had lingered long before October 2022, when he was charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour — charges which he denied and were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Figures around United were aware Greenwood was different from other academy youngsters. As electric as he was on the pitch, stories had surfaced of poor behaviour during the Covid lockdown and of parties he threw in Salford.
Those concerns multiplied in September 2020 when, along with Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Greenwood was kicked out of England’s camp for breaking Covid rules and Icelandic law, having just made his senior debut in a Nations League match. The pair invited two girls — one a beauty queen — to the team hotel and after footage emerged of the rendezvous, Greenwood and Foden were headline news.
‘It was irresponsible to break Covid protocols which are to protect players, staff and the public,’ said Greenwood, who deleted his Twitter account after the incident. ‘I want to apologise to Gareth Southgate for letting him down when he had shown great trust in me.
‘Playing for England was one of my proudest moments and I only have myself to blame. I promise my family, the fans, Manchester United and England that this is a lesson I will learn from.’
Greenwood has not played for England since. But in the autumn of 2021, Southgate and technical director John McDermott had gone to see Greenwood, members of his family and United officials with a view to reintegrating him into the squad. The meeting was, in part, to present Greenwood with a plan to select him as an England squad member rather than an automatic starter.
Along with Phil Foden, Greenwood was kicked out of England's camp when a Snapchat clip released by DV appears to show the England youngsters in a hotel room with female company
In 2021, Gareth Southgate and FA technical director John McDermott went to see Greenwood , members of his family and United officials, with a view to reintegrating the player
But Southgate left the meeting agreeing not to select the striker after all parties felt that was best. The FA’s relationship with Greenwood’s camp, in particular the player’s father Andrew, was said to be awkward.
‘They thought there would be a lot of attention around him coming into the England squad, and if he wasn’t going to play then they were not sure that was a good idea,’ a source told Mail Sport at the time.
Soon after Iceland-gate, Solskjaer was having to defend Greenwood in front of the media after United had spoken to the player about his timekeeping.
‘He’s a fantastic boy to work with,’ said Solskjaer. ‘He’s never late for training. He’s got a good family and he’s a good trainer. I’ve seen some former United players talking about him and they don’t know what they are talking about.’
Then, in January 2022, came the episode no amount of spin could fix. Greenwood was arrested by Greater Manchester Police after pictures and audio emerged on social media which allegedly showed him attacking a bloodied and bruised 18-year-old female.
Greenwood faced charges in relation to the incident which were later dropped with a CPS spokesperson saying at the time there was not a realistic prospect of conviction. United said they ‘do not condone violence of any kind’ and ‘were provided with explanations for the images and audio file by Greenwood that were not contested by the woman’s family’.
Greenwood’s £2million mansion in Bowdon, Cheshire had teemed with forensic experts and United suspended him. Days after his arrest, he was dropped by Nike without compensation, costing him millions. United removed Greenwood merchandise from their website and angry fans returned shirts bearing his name to the Old Trafford megastore.
Greenwood has not played for Manchester United since 2022 when the allegations came out
Team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford unfollowed him on social media. United’s shirt sponsor TeamViewer began ‘closely monitoring developments’ and official partner Cadbury announced Greenwood would not feature on their products.
After he was released on bail following three nights in the cells, the £75,000-a-week striker beefed up security with CCTV and two private guards hired to patrol his £14,000-a-month rented house.
Back at United Ralf Rangnick, then in interim charge, held crisis talks with football director John Murtough about Greenwood’s ‘disaster’ situation and the impact it could have on the team.
Fast forward to October 2022 and Greenwood was arrested again, this time for an alleged breach of his bail conditions. Two days later he appeared at Manchester Magistrates’ Court and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address. His dad, mum Melanie and a United security detail were in attendance. At another court hearing he wore a black hoodie covering his head. A trial was set for November of last year.
By now, calls for Greenwood to be sacked — an option United did not consider given a legal case was ongoing and a fair process was required — grew from a fanbase that had no appetite to see him play for the club again.
In February 2023, though, charges against Greenwood were dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service said key witnesses withdrew their involvement and new material came to light. ‘We have a duty to keep cases under continuous review,’ the CPS said. ‘There was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. In these circumstances we are under a duty to stop the case.’
Following news of his arrest in 2022, Greenwood was panned by team-mates and sponsors
Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba unfollowed Greenwood on social media
After a database update for all platforms including Xbox, PlayStation and PC, Greenwood no longer featured in the popular computer game FIFA for offline modes by way of response
Greenwood was sent out on loan following the conclusion of an internal club investigation
And yet, in the court of public opinion, the hammer had dropped on Greenwood. Feeling public pressure, United launched an internal investigation. Manager Erik ten Hag said it was not up to him whether Greenwood would be reintegrated into the first team. Stories emerged of club officials speaking to the women’s team to get their thoughts.
United decided reintegration was the best option but when The Athletic broke the story, there was uproar. United backtracked, and in September last year they announced: ‘Mason Greenwood has signed for La Liga side Getafe on a season-long loan. The move enables Greenwood to begin to rebuild his career away from United. The club will continue to offer its support to Mason.’
Greenwood, then a father, said: ‘I understand people will judge me because of what they have seen and heard on social media, and people will think the worst. I was brought up to know violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong. I did not do the things I was accused of. However, I made mistakes in my relationship and I take my share of responsibility for the situations which led to the social media post.’
At his Getafe unveiling — where questions on his suspension by United were banned — 4,000 fans turned up. In a week the club sold more shirts with Greenwood’s name on than any player in their history. Greenwood and his family were welcomed with open arms by Getafe, dining with their president in a high-end steak restaurant, and a translator was made available 24 hours a day.
Greenwood was a hit. He was named their player of the year after 10 goals and six assists and sparking interest from Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Marseille.
Greenwood's move to Spain was widely criticised but he has been well-supported by Getafe
The 22-year-old was named Getafe's player of the season after a fruitful loan spell in Spain
As a player, Greenwood was accepted by the rest of the Getafe dressing room from the outset
Unlike the switch to Getafe, which passed in Spain without much uproar, the Marseille move proved hugely divisive. Benoit Payan, mayor of Marseille, was vocal. ‘I will ask the president not to recruit Greenwood,’ he said. ‘I don’t want my club to be covered in shame. It’s not acceptable.
‘He (president Pablo Longoria) knows my opinions. I’ve told him our club is made up of people who come from different backgrounds. It is unbearable. I cannot imagine for a second that Longoria would make this major mistake.’
Fan groups agreed. Social media was awash with ‘Not Welcome’ messages. A club chat room, OM Forum, said: ‘The management seems to have decided the end justifies the means and that all talents are good to take to achieve sporting excellence, in defiance of the beautiful efforts made by the club in accordance with the social role it has in the city.’
There was a feeling that Greenwood settled into a slower pace of life while on loan in Spain
Marseille mayor Benoit Payan publicly opposed Greenwood's move to the club
Marseille fans started a protest movement in a bid to keep Greenwood from signing but it fell on deaf ears
Fans took to social media asking the club to not 'betray its values' by signing Greenwood
But Marseille pressed ahead, unveiling him on Thursday with an unashamedly glitzy social media video and handing him the No 10 shirt.
Greenwood turns 23 in October and has the majority of his career ahead. After 17 years and so much hope and expectation, he will no longer be attached to United.
It could have been so different. His is a cautionary tale.
