Mayor of Marseille Benoit Payan has threatened to halt the transfer of Mason Greenwood from Manchester United to Olympique Marseille, Soccernet.football reports.
The reason Manchester United are parting ways with Greenwood is frequently overlooked by many sports media outlets. Now, we are starting to see some backlash regarding Marseille’s potential acquisition of the player.
The United youth system product was arrested in January 2022 and charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occassioning actual bodily harm.
However, he was released a little over a year later as the charges were discontinued after key witnesses withdrew their involvement and “new material came to light”.
After a failed attempt to reintegrate the 22-year-old into the fold at Manchester United following his release, it was agreed by both Greenwood and United that it would be best for him to continue his career away from Old Trafford.
As a result, Greenwood spent the 2023/2024 season on loan at La Liga side Getafe where registered eight goals and six assists from 33 appearances to win their Player of the Season Award, thereby attracting the interest of many top clubs including Marseille.
As reported by FootMercato, the Ligue 1 side have reached an agreement with United for a deal which could potentially see the 22-year-old swap Manchester for Marseille. However, it appears that the news of the move has angered the city’s number one man.
Speaking in an interview with RMC on Tuesday, Payan was very clear that with the player having been accused of domestic violence and sexual assault, he shouldn’t be signed, regardless of the charges being dropped.
“Greenwood’s behavior is unspeakable, unacceptable. Hitting his wife… I saw images that deeply shocked me. Attacking his wife in this way is unworthy of a man and I believe he cannot have a place in this team.
“The values of Marseille and the values of Olympique de Marseille are anything but that. It’s anything but racism, anti-Semitism.
“It’s anything but… can you imagine, violence against women? Do you realise that? And he claims to play for Olympique de Marseille, Greenwood? It’s a disgrace.
“I will ask the president of Olympique de Marseille not to recruit Greenwood. I don’t want my club to be covered in the shame of someone who hits his wife. I don’t want my club to be covered in the ashes of someone who hits his wife like that. It’s not acceptable.”
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