Mason Greenwood is no longer on the roster of Manchester United. He will now play for a different team away from Old Trafford, as the club’s management finally decided last summer.
After Marseille paid an additional €4 million (£3.4 million) in add-ons, their initial €27.6 million (£23.3 million) was increased to €31.6 million (£26.7 million).
A portion of that €31.6 million is owed to Getafe, the La Liga team that loaned Greenwood to them during the previous season. As part of the agreement, United has also obtained a 50% sell-on clause, as The Athletic reported in December.
Nevertheless, twenty percent of that additional sum will also go to Getafe. Marseille will get €5 million on United’s €25 million sell-on if, for instance, they sell Greenwood for €50 million.
There was much interest in Greenwood. After nearly signing the 22-year-old on loan at the last minute during the previous summer, Lazio made an official offer. Valencia’s offer was turned down since it did not equal United’s asking price.
Napoli, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, and Benfica—three teams participating in the Champions League this season—had also been keeping an eye on Greenwood in recent months.
Greenwood’s stint at Getafe was always intended to be extended for another season, if not longer, on loan. However, club management were not optimistic about their chances because they thought the player wanted to play in Europe.
That might have been an issue for Marseille as well, as they finished disappointingly in eighth place this season and will not be participating in Europe for the first time in five years. Due to this and the intense competition they faced, it seemed unlikely that the Ligue 1 team would be able to sign Greenwood.
But one of Greenwood’s main draws was the chance to perform for Roberto De Zerbi. Throughout Marseille’s pursuit, Greenwood and his father Andrew were in constant communication with the former head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion, who spoke with them on a daily basis.
From his tenures at Brighton and Shakhtar Donetsk, De Zerbi has developed a reputation as a manager that players trust and who would stand up for them in public.
When the mayor of Marseille criticized Marseille’s interest in Greenwood during his formal unveiling at the Stade Velodrome earlier last month, the Italian responded in kind.
“First of all, we haven’t signed him yet, so let’s not talk about anything at the moment. Only that he is a champion, an international-level player,” De Zerbi said. “I don’t know what happened in the past. I think people going into a private life without knowing it is wrong.
“What I can say is that once a player signs with Marseille, all the players, he becomes like a son to me and I will protect him from anyone. If I have to pull their ears or put him against the wall I will — but in front of people, I will defend him like a son.”
Greenwood and his camp found resonance in the remarks made by De Zerbi, both in public and privately. A fortnight ago, club-to-club negotiations resulted in an agreement, and last week, Greenwood approved the Marseille transfer.
Interestingly, on August 3, Marseille and Sunderland will square off in a preseason friendly at Bradford’s Valley Parade, Greenwood’s hometown. Given the current circumstances, it might be his first appearance in an English stadium in over 2.5 years.
With 129 appearances, the last of which came in a 1-0 victory over West Ham United in January 2022, Greenwood is leaving United. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, a video and explicit pictures of an alleged sexual assault surfaced on social media, just over a week later.
A man was heard yelling at his purported victim to “move your f***ing legs up” on the recording. “I do not care a f*** what you want, you little s***,” the male said in response to the woman’s declaration that she did not want sex.
Greenwood was arrested by Greater Manchester Police later that day. In a club statement, United said he would “not return to training or play matches until further notice”.
Nine months later, Greenwood faced charges of attempted rape, actual bodily harm from an attack, and coercive and controlling behavior. Greenwood refuted every accusation made against him.
He was held in custody for two nights following his appearance at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on October 17, 2022, but that ruling was later reversed. After being given conditional release, Greenwood showed up in Manchester Crown Court the next month and was told to return on February 10, 2023.
Just over a week before that hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) discontinued proceedings against Greenwood. A CPS spokesperson said “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”. Greenwood had always denied all the claims against him.
Under the direction of its then-CEO Richard Arnold, United then began its own internal probe into the claims. Football director John Murtough, chief operational officer Collete Roche, communications director Ellie Norman, and legal counsel Patrick Stewart were among the others participating in the process.
According to later reports from The Athletic, Arnold informed other executives at United that the team intended to bring Greenwood back during the first week of August of last year.
United’s plans were comprehensive, with some documents undergoing over a dozen revisions. This included listing public personalities and institutions who were anticipated to be “hostile” to Greenwood’s reintegration, such as politicians, pundits, and organizations that support victims of domestic abuse.
The plans also included guidelines for Erik ten Hag’s press conference responses on the subject and what kinds of pictures to shoot of the player while he is in training.
August 4 was suggested as the day for the public announcement. Arnold intended to create a video explaining the decision’s logic and make it available to the public. But that date passed by without any notification.
Executives tried to defend their choice to employees when The Athletic revealed on August 16 that United intended to reintegrate Greenwood. The club’s decision infuriated a lot of United workers, some of whom even considered quitting or going on strike.
The club also came under intense public pressure. Members of parliament, including the local Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston — the constituency including Old Trafford — condemned United’s decision.
Women’s Aid publicly criticized the club just hours after the two parties had a fruitful discussion about the significance of teaching players about abuse. The charity had learned that United had labeled organizations that support victims of domestic abuse as “hostile” to Greenwood’s reintegration.
Supporters also expressed their dissatisfaction, sending emails to Arnold to express their unhappiness and having well-known fan clubs survey their memberships. Before United’s first Premier League match of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a fan group called Female Fans Against Greenwood’s Return staged a demonstration outside Old Trafford.
Following several crisis talks with top management, United made the decision to reverse course. Greenwood’s decision to resume his career away from Old Trafford was confirmed on August 21.
In an open letter to supporters accompanying the announcement, Arnold said that while United were “unable to access certain evidence for reasons we respect” as part of their investigation, the evidence they could gather “led us to conclude that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with”.
Reintegration was “one of the outcomes we anticipated and planned for” among others that had been “contemplated and planned for,” according to Arnold, who addressed the U-turn. He continued, saying that his opinion had “changed as the process developed” and that he was “considering a variety of viewpoints and factors until the point of making my judgment.”
At the time, United claimed that the inquiry had taken five months and that, with the complainant’s knowledge, it had involved talks with both Greenwood and the complainant’s mother. United did not communicate with the accused. The club claimed that despite being given the chance to address or refute its conclusions, the complaint and her mother chose not to do so.
The complainant’s family did not dispute the explanations that United said they were given for the materials that were uploaded online and that they were convinced that Greenwood did not physically abuse the complainant. United were certain that the complainant had not experienced coercive control from Greenwood after speaking with the complainant’s mother.
“We have judged that the material uploaded online did not present a whole picture and that Mason did not commit the acts in respect of which he was originally charged,” United stated in a statement. Having said that, Mason is accepting responsibility for his faults and has acknowledged them in public today.
“All those involved, including Mason, recognise the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United. It has therefore been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from Old Trafford, and we will now work with Mason to achieve that outcome.”
Having barely become a father a month before, Arnold wrote in an open letter to supporters that Greenwood would find it difficult to rebuild his career and create a family with his girlfriend “under the harsh limelight of Manchester United.” The United CEO added that there was a chance that split within the team might widen if Greenwood returned given the strong feelings around such a sensitive topic.
Ten Hag was one of the people who was in favor of getting Greenwood back into the starting lineup and was willing to play him if he was available for selection.
At least for a brief while, the United manager believed that Greenwood would be in his team at this time of year, just as he had been the summer before. Club executives were in touch with Greenwood’s family in the months following his detention and started to believe that charges were unlikely to be brought against him.
That only altered as the proceedings dragged on, and United’s need for a right-winger was partly justified by Greenwood’s prolonged absence when they signed Antony from Ajax for a fee of €100 million.
When questioned about Antony’s United career to date, Ten Hag specifically addressed that topic in a recent interview with the Dutch newspaper AD Sportwereld.
“In that first transfer window, Mason Greenwood seemed to be an important candidate for that position, right-winger. We had virtually no one else there. Jadon Sancho can possibly play on the right, but his most natural position is originally on the left wing.
“So, when things went wrong with Greenwood, we had to do something. Number one on the club’s scouting list was Antony.”
With the transfer window closing in most European leagues on September 1, United’s decision gave them just 11 days to find Greenwood a place to play before the player’s career ended at Old Trafford.
Discussions continued right up to that deadline. Lazio and United traded legal documents, but Maurizio Sarri, the head coach, was worried about Greenwood’s lack of playing time, and the two sides were unable to come to a decision before the Italian deadline of 7 p.m.
The timeframe for signing players in Spain was open until 11 p.m. UK time, giving Getafe enough time to intervene and finalize the signing of Greenwood on loan. United paid for at least two-thirds of his £75,000-per-week deal and did not incur a loan charge.
For the first time in almost a year and a half, Greenwood returned to the field as a substitute in a 3-2 victory over Osasuna. In 36 games for Getafe, the 22-year-old would go on to score 10 goals.
Arnold called an all-staff meeting in Manchester one day after Greenwood made his debut, giving United staff members the opportunity to anonymously submit questions.
Many had to do with the Greenwood case and Antony, who was accused of abuse by Gabriela Cavallin, his ex-partner. While the Greater Manchester Police continue their investigation, Antony refutes the accusations. Others discussed the club’s alleged greater gender prejudice against women.
Arnold said that United had “taken a lot of learnings” from the Greenwood case, citing more education of players about abuse, a review of the club’s procedures for handling complaints, and closer collaboration with charities that support women and victims of domestic abuse.
In November of last year, United revealed that Arnold would be leaving as CEO. Only Roche, one of the senior United officials involved in the Greenwood probe, is still employed.
Stewart, Norman and Murtough have all since left the club as part of the sweeping behind-the-scenes changes enacted by Sir Jim Ratcliffe following his $1.3billion minority investment in the club, which saw the INEOS owner assume control of football operations.
Ratcliffe left the door open for Greenwood to return in his first interview with reporters following the deal’s announcement in February, stating merely that he and INEOS will make a new decision regarding the academy product’s future.
Even after declaring that Greenwood will continue his career elsewhere, United had insisted that they did not anticipate seeing Greenwood play for them ever again, even though they had never completely ruled out his return. Ratcliffe proposed a reassessment of stance.
“The process will be to understand the facts, not the hype, and then try to come to a fair decision based on values,” he said. “Is he a good guy or not… could he play sincerely for Manchester United well, and would we be comfortable with it and would the fans be comfortable with it?”
Ratcliffe stated that although Arnold’s decision was reviewed by United’s new INEOS-led administration, which also looked at whether Greenwood could return, a reversal would be too disruptive and distracting given the strong public opposition to the move.
The equation also included United’s problem in adhering to financial laws, such as the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability criteria (PSR), and their need to generate money in order to finance fresh acquisitions.
The 22-year-old’s sale has occurred too late to provide the team breathing room for PSR’s 2023–24 cycle, but as an academy product, United will profit fully from his set €27.6m fee on the accounting books.
It was believed that Greenwood had no interest in going back to United in any scenario, and he had concerns over the way the club had handled him during the disciplinary procedure. There is something appealing about a life away from Manchester in warmer climates with less celebrity.
On July 8, Greenwood made his way back to Carrington in time for United’s first training day. However, it was never anticipated that he would participate in team or individual drills.
Rather, Greenwood was given more time away from United while the team handled interest from potential bidders and planned a possible exit. The player and his representatives held fruitful talks with United officials that morning.
The next day, a contract was reached with Marseille, but it still needed Greenwood’s blessing. That came about a week later. Following his Wednesday night flight into the port city, Greenwood inked a five-year deal that would run through 2029.
The news was confirmed by a 56-word statement that appeared on United’s official website on Thursday night. “Mixed feelings” were expressed by female fans of Greenwood’s Return in response to the announcement.
“Relief that this grim period in our history is over, and that survivors of abuse won’t have to face a reminder of their darkest experiences while watching Manchester United play,” the statement read.
“Sadness at seeing a generational talent who could have achieved so much at the club lost because his moral fortitude off the pitch didn’t match his talent on it. Concern for what happens next to someone whose horrific experiences came to light in the public eye.
“Hope that this whole sorry episode might spark some sort of change, and make young players realise that you can have all the talent in the world, but ultimately it’s your humanity and compassion, or lack of it, that will make or break your success.”
Finally, in the only way possible, this chapter of United’s history has come to an end with the parting of ways that many employees and supporters believed was required.
Additional reporting: Guillermo Rai
(Header design: Eamonn Dalton, photos: Getty Images)
