Ten Hag backs Onana despite more struggles in Man Utd defeat
Mason Greenwood skyrocketed through Manchester United’s youth system before making his senior debut in 2019 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It’s common for players to require a certain level of arrogance to soar to the top, but Greenwood was reportedly a disciplinary hazard during his early years.
The 21-year-old forward was destined to enjoy an illustrious career after making 129 appearances in his opening three seasons around United’s first team.
He registered 35 goals and 12 assists in that time before his January 2022 arrest halted his development and, ultimately, signalled the end of the road at Old Trafford.
Greenwood was charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour. He denied all allegations surfacing on social media the same month as his arrest.
The Crown Prosecution Service later dropped all charges against him, and he relaunched his career with a deadline-day loan move to La Liga side Getafe.
Erik ten Hag was reportedly open to the prospect of Greenwood’s reintegration into his squad before United chief executive Richard Arnold made a dramatic U-turn.
But the former United’s No 11 previous discipline issues may have seen him become more of a problem than a solution under Ten Hag’s regime.
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In March, The Athletic reported that Greenwood caused fractures in United’s youth teams due to his ruthlessly honest verdict of teammates.
It’s claimed Greenwood brutally called out his fellow hopefuls when they failed to impress him as he zoned in on his road to the United first team.
“He knew he was a good player and was cutting. He wasn’t shy about telling someone they were s**t. When you hear that, you’d think, ‘Can’t be talking like that’,” one source said.
United also had to step in when Greenwood aimed fire at a club legend in Cristiano Ronaldo while the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was in the later stages of his iconic Real Madrid career.
Greenwood reportedly branded Ronaldo as ‘dead’ – meaning past his best in slang terms – referring to the start of his slow decline from one of the world’s greatest footballers.
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Red Devils staff had to put the Bradford-born star in his place in response, trying to teach him to become less immature.
Greenwood, of course, later teamed up with Ronaldo after the 38-year-old’s sensational 2021 return. It’s unclear whether he was made aware of the former’s previous comments.
Another incident allegedly involved Greenwood threatening to jump ship to rivals Manchester City when there was tension in training.
Ten Hag’s no-nonsense approach in M16 wouldn’t have excluded Greenwood. His treatment of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo is proof of that.
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