Marseille chief has no regrets over Greenwood deal

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Serious charges against Mason Greenwood were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2023
  • Author, Nizaar Kinsella
  • Role, 91热爆 Sport football news reporter

Club president Pablo Longoria says Marseille "looked at all the information" when signing Mason Greenwood from Manchester United and that he has no regrets over the deal.

Greenwood, 22, left Old Trafford in a 拢26.6m deal with the French club in August, signing until 2029.

Serious charges against Greenwood, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February 2023.

But Marseille have faced criticism from the local mayor, who described the move as "not acceptable" when the club's intention to sign the forward, who spent last season on loan at Getafe in Spain, went public.

When asked whether such criticism has led to regrets about the move, Longoria said at the Thinking Football Summit: "The comments of the mayor reinforce what we did, [they did] not have all the information.

"We took the decision internally. OK, there was some opposition, that was objective, but at the same time that gave us power to maybe not investigate, because I am not a judge, but to use all the information to take the best decision, which I think we did."

He added: "In our very first conversation with the coach [Roberto de Zerbi] we mentioned Mason's name.

"The coach knew Mason from the past and it was a very quick conversation at the start between all of us because we believe in the talent of Mason.

"There were a lot of conversations between all of us in the weeks leading up to his move. He is behaving fantastically with us and we are very happy to have him playing in our team."

Greenwood has scored five goals in three matches since joining the Ligue 1 club.

However, England's caretaker manager Lee Carsley said "he wasn't a player we considered" when asked about his potential involvement in the national team.

Longoria said he could not explain why Greenwood is not being considered by England, adding: "I don't want to answer that kind of question out of respect to everybody.

"I prefer to talk about what Mason is doing in France and Marseille and we are very happy with the kind of performances that he is doing during the first weeks as well."

Greewood's goals have helped Marseille enjoy an undefeated start after a radical overhaul of the squad for new manager De Zerbi, who joined after leaving Brighton this summer.