Mason GREENWOOD - Frapper un grand coup

It was on the Monday before last that the end finally looked in sight. Mason Greenwood and his father Andrew had arrived at Manchester United’s Carrington training base that morning for a meeting with club officials about the striker’s future and the common consensus was that, of the options available, a move to Marseille worked best for all.

A week later, Greenwood would be back at Carrington for the final time, 15 years after first walking through its doors, for some medical screening and, by the Wednesday evening, was on a private plane bound for France with his family ahead of a £26.6 million move to Marseille, where he was greeted by a small army of fans chanting his name.

Within 24 hours, having completed a medical and put pen to paper on a five-year contract, Greenwood was officially unveiled as Marseille’s new No 10, a new chapter beginning just as another one closed.

Two-and-a-half years have passed since Greenwood was first suspended by United in the wake of his arrest on suspicion of attempted rape and assault following the publication of images and videos on social media.


Few episodes in the recent history of English football have sparked such strong reaction or cast such a shadow over a club but a line has at last been drawn. United will move on without Greenwood while the player will look to continue to rebuild his career and life overseas, a process that began on loan at Getafe in Spainlast season after United abandoned original plans to reintegrate him into their first-team squad in the face of a severe backlash.

Under the terms of that loan arrangement, Getafe will net 20 per cent of the money from Greenwood’s sale to Marseille, who are paying an initial €23.6 million (£19.9 million) up front with a further €8 million (£6.7 million) in add-ons. Half of those extras – around £3.4 million – will be guaranteed if Greenwood stays at Marseille for three years. The rest of the add-ons are related to appearances and performance.

 

United had originally set Greenwood’s valuation at £40 million – still only around half of what he was being valued at before social media exploded that dark January day in 2022 – but the trade-off for accepting a lower fee from Marseille was the inclusion of a sell-on clause entitling the Manchester club to 50 per cent of the profits on any future sale.
There is also a buy-back option in the agreement with Marseille. These are fairly routine nowadays where the sale of academy graduates or young talents are concerned but, given Greenwood’s history, the decision to include a buy-back clause could be perceived as somewhat contentious.

Nonetheless, Telegraph Sport understands there is no expectation or intention of Greenwood coming back in the future and that, if the clause does signify the door remains ajar for the player down the line, it is very much the slimmest of cracks. The prospect of it being activated is considered very low.


Much greater significance is being attached to the high sell-on clause given the feeling Marseille is unlikely to be Greenwood’s final destination and that he has the ability to play for a very top club. Moreover, though, there is simply the hope that Greenwood – still only 22 – can realise his full potential at the same time as rehabilitating on a personal level and a sense of relief that all parties can now move on.

Charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Greenwood had been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February last year after key witnesses withdrew their involvement and new material came to light. It was after that news that United conducted a five-month internal investigation from which they decided they would look to reintegrate Greenwood into their squad, a move that had the blessing of manager Erik ten Hag.
Much greater significance is being attached to the high sell-on clause given the feeling Marseille is unlikely to be Greenwood’s final destination and that he has the ability to play for a very top club. Moreover, though, there is simply the hope that Greenwood – still only 22 – can realise his full potential at the same time as rehabilitating on a personal level and a sense of relief that all parties can now move on.
Yet the reaction internally from many staff to members of the women’s team, fans, womens’ groups and domestic abuse campaigners externally was so fierce that United backed down and Greenwood was subsequently loaned to Getafe, where he scored 10 goals in 36 appearances last term.

When Sir Jim Ratcliffe finally acquired a minority stake in the club in February, the Ineos billionaire was clear that he and his team wanted to review the Greenwood case with a fresh set of eyes and an open mind and assess all the different factors and considerations at play before making a final decision on the player’s future.

By the end of the season, they had resolved that it made the most sense to stick with the original plan to sell Greenwood and that any moves to bring him back would be too contentious and cause too much of a distraction at a time when they were trying to usher in a new era at Old Trafford.


It should be stressed here that Greenwood’s own family had been strongly of the view that it was better for their son to move away from United and continue playing overseas. Greenwood had enjoyed life in Madrid with Getafe, free of harassment and away from the scrutiny that would have followed him had he remained in England. Members of United’s player support team had initially gone across to Spain with Greenwood but he settled quickly.

The spotlight may now intensify with the move to a higher profile club in Marseille. There has already been opposition to the transfer among a small pool of the French club’s fans and the city’s mayor, Benoît Payan. But there has to be an acceptance that there will be dissenting voices along the way.
United close book on toxic saga
Telegraph Sport reported in early May how two Premier League clubs had inquired about Greenwood but, if he was going to leave United, it was for someone overseas, away from the goldfish bowl.


Lazio would come closest to challenging Marseille and made a bid in the region of £21 million. Valencia also made an offer but at a lower level. Benfica, Napoli, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund registered interest but none came to the table with a concrete bid. The Greenwoods were clear that Marseille was their preference.

The discussions, which were often sensitive and delicately poised, were handled by United’s director of football negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, who had been recruited from Adidas by the previous Old Trafford regime but has made an immediate impression on the club’s new hierarchy.

Hargreaves also handled the negotiations with Lille and Leny Yoro over the signing of the France Under-21 defender and, in both cases, no one was resting easy until those deals were rubber-stamped given how a false step could have seen everything come crashing down

 

Tu sentais le mec pas impliqué...

 

oé, c'est écrit sur sa gueule...

 

Au final :
Transfert à 23,6M (ça va)
8M de bonus dont 4M si Greenwood reste 3 ans. Le reste c'est sur les performances sportives.
50% sur la PLUE VALUE et pas la revente.
Clause de rachat mais on sait pas à combien de United qui devrait pas être levée.




A refusé Juventus Naples Lazio Dortmund pour venir.

 

Ca écrit des livres en anglais maintenant

 

Espérons qui frappera un grand coup mais plus sur sa meuf

 

Inscrit aujourd'hui Mr sang bleu ?!?
Tu trolls ...ou tu te fais chier cet été ou quoi ???

 

Mais elle aime ça puisqu'elle reste avec.
Il y'en a qui aime ce genre de délire, on doit pas s'ennuyer chez les Greenwood.

 

Du talent putain, on va se régaler

 

C'est même pas du troll c'est plus de l'humour noir 2 nd degré on va dire

 

La l1 n’est pas prête.

 

Il a biflé les bretons

 

un avion de chasse
putain le kiff on a enfin un attaquant de haut niveau.

 

Faut reconnaitre que c'est du haut niveau!!!

 

Ouch..
Il est déjà très facile avec en plus l’impression de ne pas être prêt..

 

Hé oui t as vu ça !
Un attaquant de ce calibre ça va nous faire remuer la truffe là !

 

Ah ça change de Sarr....

 

Il est pas là pour plaisanter. Un vrai joueur de haut niveau.