Inside Man United's toxic £30m transfer: The end of the Mason Greenwood saga

Mason Greenwood, dressed in his blue Manchester United polo shirt, smiled as he posed for photographs alongside an equally happy Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the forward had signed a long-term deal with the club he joined as a six-year old.

It was 2020.

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 path.

Back in 2020, Solskjaer was excited about the 18-year-old, the most natural finisher at the club, in his eyes. When he came on as a substitute against Arsenal the previous May aged 17 he had become the second youngest United Premier League player, after Angel Gomes.

'We really 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 that we believe in him and his future is here,' Solskjaer beamed.

But Greenwood's future, at least his immediate future, is in France as he completes a £30million move to Marseille.

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 largely lows; suspensions, a lengthy legal case, doubts over his professionalism, sponsors dropping him, law-breaking in Iceland while with England, a U-turn from United on reintegrating him... and now the mayor of Marseille.

Concerns around Greenwood lingered long before he was arrested in October 2022 and charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.

Figures around United were aware that Greenwood was different to other academy youngsters. As electric as he was on the pitch, he proved electric off it, with stories surfacing of poor behaviour during the Covid lockdown and parties thrown by the young striker in Salford.

Those concerns magnified tenfold when, alongside 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. The pair invited two girls - one a beauty queen - back to the team hotel and after footage emerged of the rendezvous on social media, Greenwood and Foden were headline news.

'It was irresponsible to break Covid protocols which are to protect players, staff and the public,' Greenwood, who deleted his Twitter account following the incident, said. '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 went to see Greenwood, members of his family and United officials, with a view to reintegrate the player into the senior squad. 

The meeting was, in part, to present Greenwood with a plan to select him as a squad member rather than an automatic starter. Tellingly Southgate left the meeting agreeing not to select him after all parties felt that was best.

The FA's relationship with Greenwood's camp, in particular 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 if that was a good idea,' a source told Mail Sport at the time.

Back at United it became increasingly hard to keep a lid on issues swirling around Greenwood. 

Soon after Icelandgate, Solskjaer in front of the media defending Greenwood again despite the club having had to speak to him over his timekeeping.

'He's a fantastic boy to work with,' was Solskjaer's version. 'He's never late for training. He's got a good family, he's got a good background in the academy and he's a good trainer. 

'I've seen some ex-United players talking about him and they don't know what they're talking about.'

Then, in early 2022, came the episode no club spin could fix. 

Greenwood was arrested by Greater Manchester Police after distressing pictures and audio circulated on social media allegedly showing him attacking a bloodied and bruised 18-year-old female. A man could be heard shouting 'move your f****** legs you'. When the woman said that she did not want sex, the man responded: 'I don't give a f*** what you want, you little s***.'

United said they were seeking to 'establish the full circumstances'. And that 'United does not condone violence of any kind.'

Greenwood's £2m mansion in the upmarket village of Bowdon, Cheshire, was teeming with forensic experts and United suspended him. 

Dominos began to fall. Days after his arrest he was dropped by Nike without a penny of compensation, costing him millions. United removed Greenwood merchandise from the club website, while angry fans returned shirts bearing the player's name to the Old Trafford megastore. 

Team-mates disassociated themselves, too. Cristiano Ronaldo, David de Gea, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford unfollowed him on social media. United's shirt sponsors TeamViewer began 'closely monitoring the developments' and official partner Cadbury announced that 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 two private guards to patrol the £14,000-a-month rented house. An eight-camera CCTV system was installed.

Back at United Ralf Rangnick, then in interim charge, held crisis talks with then-football director John Murtough base to discuss 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 - not an option considered by United with the legal case ongoing and a fair process required - grew from a fan-base 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. [So] we are under a duty to stop the case.'

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 down to him whether Greenwood would be reintegrated. Stories emerged of officials speaking to the women's team for their thoughts.

United decided reintegration was for the best but when The Athletic broke the story, the decision caused uproar. United backtracked and in September last year released a short statement: '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 new father, said: 'I understand that people will judge me because of what they have seen and heard on social media, and I know people will think the worst. 

'I was brought up to know that violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong, I did not do the things I was accused of, and in February I was cleared of all charges. 

'However, I accept 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 unveiling – where questions on the United suspension were banned – 4,000 fans turned up. In a week they sold more shirts with Greenwood's name on than of any other player in the club's history. 

Greenwood and his family were welcomed with open arms by club, dining with the president in a high-end steak restaurant, while a translator was made available 24-7.

Greenwood was a hit, winning Player of the Season after 10 goals and six assists in 36 games, sparking interest from Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Marseille.

Unlike the switch to Getafe, which passed in Spain without much uproar, the Marseille move is proving hugely divisive. Benoit Payan, the Marseille mayor, was vocal. 

'I will ask the president of Marseille not to recruit Greenwood,' Payan said. 'I don't want my club to be covered in the shame. It's not acceptable.

'He (Pablo Longoria, the club's president) knows what my opinions are. I've told him that our history and our club is made up of people who come from different backgrounds. 

'It is unbearable. I cannot imagine for a second that Pablo Longoria would make this major mistake.'

Fan groups agreed. Social media was awash with '#GreenwoodNotWelcome' messages. 

A club chat room, OM Forum, said in a statement: 'The management led by Pablo Longoria seems to have decided that only 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 recent years, in particular through its foundation, in accordance with the social role it has in the city.'

And yet Marseille have pressed ahead, ready to bring an end, finally, to Greenwood's United dream-turned-nightmare. The two clubs have agreed a fee of £27m plus £3.2m in add-ons.

Greenwood turns 23 in October and has the majority of his career ahead of him. After 17 years, and so much hope and expectation and a flicker or United stardom, he will no longer be attached to Old Trafford. It could have been so different. His is a cautionary tale.