Greenwood SLAMMED by club director after leaving Man Utd for Marseille

Tom Weber

Updated: 2 Aug 2024 10:22 BST
3 min read

Lazio director Mariano Fabiani has blasted 'mercenary' Mason Greenwood after his transfer to Olympique Marseille.

Article continues under the video

The disgraced former Man Utd forward left the Premier League for good in July, completing a €30 million transfer to the Ligue 1 giants. His transfer followed a lengthy saga that saw many clubs vying for his signature.

Last year, Man Utd had considered bringing him back into the fold after his charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm were dropped. However, these plans were scuppered by massive fan outrage.

Man Utd decided to cut their losses, initially loaning him to Gefate and then managing to make a healthy profit on the academy product this summer.

Besides Marseille, Lazio were very serious about their pursuit of Greenwood as they had already wanted to sign him when he was made available for loan last year. Ultimately, however, the 22-year-old made the move to France, but clearly not everyone is particularly happy about it.

Greenwood a 'mercenary'

Speaking to Lazio club media, director Mariano Fabiani hit out at Greenwood, branding him a 'mercenary.' "We wanted Greenwood last year, then there was a hitch with the player. You all know what Greenwood’s problem was."

"An agent this year approached us with the idea of Greenwood in Italy, we gave him a deadline, from there an auction was unleashed and I thought I could go up to a certain limit. We offered £22 million for 50% of the player, we’re talking about €26m. He preferred to take another path and I say that the best deals are those that aren’t made."

“I want [Nicolo] Rovella, [Mattia] Zaccagni, players who love the environment where they work. I don’t want these mercenaries, it’s lucky not to make certain deals. I could sell myself for €50,000 more but I have values that my parents passed on to me. If he’s taken another path, we wish Greenwood the best of luck."