De Zerbi defence of Greenwood to stain Tottenham forever after 18-word smoking gun

Roberto De Zerbi’s palms look to have been sufficiently greased for him to become the new Tottenham manager in what many onlookers will see as quite the coup for Spurs as they look to stave off relegation.

But the Italian’s defence of Mason Greenwood, in particular a horribly narrow-minded and callous 18-word attempt to brush the former Manchester United’s alleged rape under the carpet, should have been enough to see Spurs steer clear of the 46-year-old as fan groups rail against his appointment.

De Zerbi has reportedly been offered a five-year deal at Tottenham which will make him the Premier League’s third-highest paid manager, which also includes a signing-on fee and survival bonus. He’s also been given ‘assurances of major summer investment to reshape the squad to his vision’ if we’re to make the giant assumption that he keeps Spurs in the top flight.

READ MORE: Ben Davies and vibes over tactics offers Spurs as much hope as De Zerbi

He left Marseille by mutual consent in February following a 5-0 hammering by PSG and a 3-0 Champions League loss to Club Brugge, but led them to second last season, in large part thanks to Greenwood’s 21 goals after De Zerbi brought him to the club in his first transfer window at the helm.

Manchester United narrowly avoided a PR disaster having tested the waters through revealing they were considering Greenwood’s return to the first team when charges against him were dropped in February 2023 by sending him out on loan to Getafe before accepting Marseille’s £26.6m bid for the academy graduate in the summer of 2024.

Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 amid allegations surrounding images and videos. He was later charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the charges were discontinued after key witnesses withdrew their involvement and “new material came to light”.

As if he had been managing from a hole in the ground, De Zerbi insisted before Greenwood’s signing was made official that “I don’t know his background”, and said he would defend all his players publicly “like (they were) my sons”.

We wonder what he might have said had his actual son been in Greenwood’s shoes during his suspension from football, but in November, De Zerbi described Greenwood as a “good guy” who had paid a “heavy price”.

The heavy price of scolding from what we hope is the vast majority but grim respect from others for getting back on a footballing horse which earns Greenwood over £100,000 per week.

“It saddens me what happened to him because I know a very different person from the one portrayed in England.” De Zerbi added.

Women of the Lane said De Zerbi’s comments raised “serious questions about judgement and leadership”.

The group, whose aim is to eradicate sexism and misogyny in football, said: “This is not an appointment Tottenham Hotspur should make.”

After launching the ‘no to De Zerbi’ campaign, Proud Lilywhites, Spurs’ official LGBTQ+ fans’ group, said: “When someone in that position publicly defends a player like Mason Greenwood, and frames it in a way that downplays the seriousness of what happened, it matters, not just in isolation but in what it signals.”

“He is a player of an extraordinary level,” De Zerbi said after Greenwood scored twice on his debut before delivering what should have been the 18-word smoking gun to ensure Tottenham didn’t go anywhere near him as he downplayed the forward’s alleged rape like the absolute worst guy down the pub shrugging and declaring that he “scores goals though…”

“I am happy that he scored, as that way he will be less of a target for controversy.”

Greenwood made himself the target by bringing about the controversy after (excuse us for repetition here) he was charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

And Tottenham’s manager-elect is arguably the person who can be most credited, or most culpable, for Greenwood’s bleak rise from his pit of public shame after all-but declaring that all ills can be cured through playing good football.