Greenwood nets brace on Marseille debut as fans split on ex-Man Utd striker

Tom Weber

• Updated: 17 Aug 2024 18:07 BST
• 3 min read

Mason Greenwood netted twice as he made his competitive bow for Olympique de Marseille.

The disgraced former Man Utd forward completed a permanent transfer to Marseille earlier this summer in what was a controversial move that sparked outrage from large sections of the fanbase.

Indeed, even the mayor of Marseille condemned the transfer for a player who, two years ago, was arrested and charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Those charges were eventually dropped but his innocence was never proven.

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Nevertheless, the club pushed ahead with the deal, with new coach Roberto de Zerbi desperately keen to add the 22-year-old to his squad. After impressing in recent friendlies, Greenwood made his competitive debut against Stade Brestois on Saturday and netted a brace.

Fans split on Greenwood

The Englishman opened the scoring after just three minutes before converting a penalty 28 minutes later in what was a comfortable 5-1 win for Marseille over their Champions League-bound opponents.

Despite his two goals, Greenwood was outshone by some of his teammates. Luis Enrique and Amine Harit, who notched a brace of goals and assists respectively, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli all received higher match ratings, as per FootballCritic.

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Marseille's fanbase and football social media as a whole were naturally split on the controversial striker, with some praising the player for his goalscoring impact, while others were less than enthusiastic about the fact that he is allowed to still play top-level football.

Prior to his signing, Marseille fans had launched a social media campaign against the striker and it will be interesting to see how they will react when he makes his home debut. One supporter wrote on X that he was 'hatewatching' the game away at Brest.

Even transfer expert Fabrizio Romano found himself in the crossfire, being widely criticized on social media for praising Greenwood.