SPANISH SIDE GETAFE WILL HELP MASON GREENWOOD ‘RECOVER BACK TO HIS BEST LEVEL’
Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood has officially made a move away from the club, less than two weeks after United announced they would be parting ways with the English striker. The 21-year-old completed a season-long loan ahead of the September 1st deadline to Getafe, the La Liga team confirmed on the weekend.
The loan move will keep Greenwood in the Spanish capital until June 30th, 2024. As per European transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, United will cover more than 50% of Mason Greenwood’s £75,000-a-week salary, while Getafe will foot the bill for the remainder.
A statement released by Manchester United ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline read: “Mason Greenwood has signed for La Liga side Getafe CF on a season-long loan, subject to international clearance. The move enables Greenwood to begin to rebuild his career away from United. The club will continue to offer support to Mason and his family during this period of transition.”
Getafe manager Jose Bordalas spoke on Greenwood’s addition to the team, saying that the English international is “a footballer of a very high level” and that the club intends to help him to get back to his best level. The young Englishman was not in the team’s squad that faced Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
“It is a very delicate situation to trivialize this issue,” said Bordalas. “Everybody knows what happened and the appropriate measures were taken. Obviously, we can only talk about football. Regarding the other issues, I believe that the people and the relevant authorities did what they had to do and everyone knows how it ended with a non-conviction sentence.”
“Therefore he is a free person, a footballer of a very high level and who arrives at Getafe with enormous enthusiasm and that we are obviously going to help him so that he recovers back to his best level.”
Fans of the Madrid-based club, Getafe, were enthusiastic about the Greenwood signing and were seen celebrating the new acquisition outside the club’s Coliseum Alfonso Pérez stadium. The club went further to set up a brand new Twitter account on Saturday for English-speaking fans to follow and keep up-to-date with the young striker’s progress.
“I have already commented what I had to comment,” 59-year-old Bordalas said to the media on Saturday. “I can only speak on a football level. We all know the potential he has. He is a very young boy, he is still 21 years old and we can help him adapt to a situation.”
“It’s a different league but because of the potential he has, I’m sure that if he physically reaches a good level, I’m convinced of him because of how young he is and because we’ve been informed that he obviously wants to recover his professional status and Getafe can help him in that.”
Greenwood had been subject to an internal investigation at Manchester United after he had charges of sexual misconduct, assault and controlling behavior dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February. United Chief Executive Officer Richard Arnold said last month that he was satisfied Mason Greenwood did not commit the acts he was charged with and he intended to minimize any distraction to the unity the hierarchy sought after within the club.
“While I am satisfied that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with,” said Arnold. “Mason’s accepted that he has made mistakes which he takes responsibility for. I am also mindful of the challenge that Mason would face rebuilding his career and raising a baby together with his partner in the harsh spotlight of Manchester United. Further, this case has provoked strong opinions, and it is my responsibility to minimize any distraction to the unity we are seeking within the club.”
With a chance to rebuild his career abroad, the Bradford-born forward will now use this opportunity in La Liga as a step in the right direction and hopefully a route back to his boyhood club, Manchester United.
According to English newspaper, The Sun, Greenwood refuses to give up on his dream to return to Old Trafford and is determined to prove himself when he faces Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona this season. The young English forward could still land back in Manchester in 2024 if he puts in good performances on the field.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Ardfern. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.