Manchester United finally washed their hands of the Mason Greenwood saga last week, along with all the toxicity that surrounded it.
There is, however, a lingering prospect that the forward could one day don the iconic red shirt again, as The Telegraph has confirmed there was a buyback clause inserted into Greenwood’s exit agreement with Olympique Marseille.
It’s certainly a questionable decision from the club, given that they were made to scrap plans to reintegrate the player last year due to widespread backlash from supporters, politicians and public figures.
His case, which saw him arrested and later charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2022 before charges were dropped in 2023, is like nothing we’ve seen before in modern football. The disturbing footage that flooded social media after Greenwood’s initial accusations will now follow him everywhere.
Greenwood’s family advocated for Marseille move
That’s something that his family are more than aware of, too, as they had actively pushed for the 22-year-old to join Marseille despite him garnering interest from two unnamed Premier League clubs, as well as Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Napoli and Lazio. They believe that navigating his career and life in France will be considerably easier than in England, as they found to be the case in Spain last season when he was on loan with Getafe.
Nevertheless, James Ducker’s report adds: “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.”
