According to The Guardian, Manchester United boardroom is ‘spilt’ over whether to let Mason Greenwood continue at the club or not. It has been exactly an year since the winger has been embroiled in legal proceedings after investigation was opened against him in January 2022 in a case relating to allegations of attempted rape, assault and coercive and controlling behaviour.
However, Mason Greenwood would be somewhat relieved now that all the charges have been dropped against him and the investigation has been discontinued. It came as a surprise since evidences were piled up against him, but the Crown Prosecution Service have now confirmed that there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” after key witnesses withdrew their cooperation from the investigation.
United staff divided over the Mason Greenwood decision
After prosecutors dropped their case against Mason Greenwood for an attempted rape, Manchester United is now considering his future. The Guardian claims that many employees at Old Trafford would be quite upset if the striker returned to the team, whereas others feel its the club’s moral responsibility to extend a ‘duty of care’ towards a player who has been with the club since the age if seven and has not been convicted of any crime.
Meanwhile, United have launched their own internal investigation against the 21-year-old despite the prosecution dropping the cases against him. Greenwood couldn’t have had a club investigation going on against him until the cases against him were dropped. United CEO Richard Arnold is overseeing the club’s internal investigation now and will decide what to do next.
It is being understood that the decision to whether or not retain the 21-year-decision old’s services, where he has a contract through 2025, might go either way. The potential financial consequences of retaining Mason Greenwood will be taken into account, as well as how much damage this episode has sustained on the ‘United brand’ and their international partners, who are keeping an eye on the situation.
While their primary shirt sponsors TeamViewer have abstained themselves on commenting on this issue, another partner, Ecolab have confirmed that they are in constant contact with United. An Ecolab spokesperson said:
“Any question relating to the players and the operations of the club we would refer to Manchester United. We are aware of the topic and are in contact with the club. We have no comment to provide at this time.”
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s pre match press conference ahead of the Crystal Palace game was gull of Mason Greenwood questions, as the Dutchman only had diplomatic answers to give. Ten Hag said on the internal investigation of Greenwood:
“I can’t give a comment about the process. I can’t say anything about it. I refer to the statement of the club and at this moment I can’t add anything. We have to always focus on the game, no matter what, it is our job,” he said. “That is why we are here.”