Greenwood U-turn decided after Man Utd ‘crisis meeting’ as staff ‘discussed resigning’ in protest
According to reports, Manchester United were initially planning to bring Mason Greenwood back but they made a U-turn after a ‘crisis meeting’ on Friday.
It was announced on Monday afternoon that Greenwood and Man Utd have mutually agreed that the 21-year-old will continue his career elsewhere.
Greenwood has been suspended by the Premier League giants since January 2020 as he was facing charges relating to attempted rape and assault.
These charges were dropped at the start of this year as the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that there was no longer a realistic chance of conviction due to the withdrawal of key witnesses and new information that emerged in relation to the case.
Before deciding whether Greenwood will continue with Man Utd, they started their own internal investigation and The Athletic reported last week that they were planning to reintegrate him.
The Athletic are now reporting that ‘backlash across season-ticket holders, fans, supporters’ groups, members of parliament and even charities that support female victims of abuse had combined to force a rethink’ by Friday (18th) afternoon. The report adds.
‘That same evening, United’s most senior decision-makers engaged in crisis meetings. Very quickly, despite a plan for reintegration that had gone through more than a dozen iterations, the only questions that remained centred on the next steps as United weighed up an exit strategy.
‘They debated whether to loan out or sell Greenwood, or attempt to cut ties with the 21-year-old altogether — though this would present legal challenges given the club do not consider, following the findings of an internal investigation, that they have grounds to terminate his contract. In the end, the club confirmed on Monday that they would work with the player to continue his career elsewhere and the club say they do not expect an eventuality where a loan move leads to the player representing United again in the future.’
‘A loan move away from the club would allow United to retain commercial control of a footballer who, before his arrest in January 2022, was widely deemed to be the best young forward in English football. This would either be with a view to selling Greenwood further down the line if he can restore his value on the field, or hypothetically, to one day bring him back to Old Trafford, but the club insist they do not expect this to happen.
‘Talks culminated in a U-turn as the public pressure surrounding the decision became intolerable for some of the club’s most senior executives.’
The report later states that Man Utd found themselves ‘in the midst of a public relations crisis, both internally and externally’. They add.
‘Some employees felt appalled by the club’s plans around Greenwood and United executives held multiple intense meetings with staff. Some had discussed resigning in the event United brought Greenwood back. Others started to research how to go on strike.
‘The crisis meetings involved United executives seeking to justify a return for Greenwood to staff, while also claiming no final decision had been made, which reiterates how determined United’s executive had become to see through the plan.’
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