England international Mason Greenwood has told his friends that he doubts he’ll ever play for Man Utd again, according to reports,
Greenwood, 21, had been facing charges including attempted rape and assault but the Crown Prosecution Service said in February that the case had been discontinued as “the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
Erik ten Hag has declined to comment on Greenwood’s case directly, instead referring to a Man Utd statement which said “the club will now conduct its own process before determining next steps” regarding the academy product, who has been suspended from playing and training since January 2022.
The club hope to gain a clearer understanding of the circumstances surrounding the allegations made against Greenwood before determining their next steps.
It is unclear how long this will take and was not commenced until February to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings.
Greenwood said in a statement at the time: “I am relieved that this matter is now over and I would like to thank my family, loved ones and friends for their support. There will be no further comment at this time.”
But The Sun now claims that Greenwood ‘has told pals he will never play for Man United again’ with the club spending 12 weeks investigating the striker.
Greenwood ‘is no closer to being reintegrated into the first-team squad’ and a source told the newspaper: “Mason believes he’s finished at United.
“He’s sat at home kicking his heels and very frustrated. He wants to get back playing football but realises his situation is very complicated and it’s his own doing.
“He is determined to play football again but doesn’t think he’ll ever pull on a United shirt ever again.”
Bradford-born Greenwood came through the Man Utd academy and made his senior debut for the Red Devils in a Champions League victory away to Paris St Germain in March 2019.
He has one senior cap for England, playing in the Nations League match against Iceland in September 2020.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan suggested that Man Utd had “two options” on how to deal with the ongoing situation surrounding Greenwood.
Jordan told talkSPORT in Fabruary: “Firstly you’ve got the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and he hasn’t been proven guilty… but while he hasn’t been convicted in a court of law, that’s not the same as being innocent.
“The whole dynamics of this are very unique, because he was arrested in the public domain very quickly before he was even charged, and the nature of his arrest got him immediately reputationally removed from a relationship with one of his sponsors, Nike.
“Manchester United, in my view, would be within their gift to be able to consider this as bringing the club into disrepute.
“From a club point of view I would be looking at, is this behaviour – the nature of an arrest, with the allegations made against him – befitting of a Man United player?
“With that in mind I would have two options: Do I look at it as reputational damage that takes him out of his contract with an immediate dismissal – which opens me up to a situation where people might suggest I’ve wrongfully dismissed somebody?
“Or do I put him in a situation where I pay up his contract and extricate myself from the problem that way?
“It’s an incredibly difficult situation for the club, and I think Manchester United have got to look at the whole scenario because this situation is reputationally toxic for all concerned.
“Manchester United have the opportunity now to speak to this boy at great length and avail themselves of every scintilla of information around this scenario and then take a view.
“I think, without prejudging, they’re into the grounds of bringing the club into disrepute.
“While he’s a wonderful footballer, there is a line where football clubs are supposed to represent the best values in society.”
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