Mason Greenwood’s England return stance and Man Utd transfer clause | Football | Sport
Mason Greenwood’s success at club level has not translated into international recognition. The former Manchester United forward has emerged as one of the most lethal strikers in Ligue 1 since joining Marseille in 2024. The 24-year-old shared last season’s Golden Boot with Ousmane Dembele, both players scoring an impressive 21 goals.
Greenwood has maintained his goal-scoring prowess this season, topping the league’s scoring charts with 12 goals and amassing a total of 20 across all competitions. Before his £23million switch to France, Greenwood faced charges of rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour in 2022, which were subsequently dropped. Greenwood vehemently denied all accusations.
During his tenure at United, he was hailed as a future star for both club and country, even earning his first England cap in 2020 – his only appearance for the Three Lions to date.
Prior to Euro 2024, then-boss Gareth Southgate categorically stated that Greenwood was not under consideration, and current manager Thomas Tuchel has previously confessed that the striker is “not in his thoughts”.
The German said last year: “I have not spoken to him until now. I have not spoken to him or his camp. My understanding was that he tries to play for Jamaica so we didn’t give it another thought. He was not in the mix at the moment, and he is not in our thoughts for our team.”
Despite Greenwood submitting the necessary paperwork to change his international allegiance to Jamaica, he has yet to make his debut for the nation, even though he was expected to be available for selection in Jamaica’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago last September.
With 42 goals in 62 appearances for Marseille, Greenwood has proved to be excellent value for the French club, who paid United an additional £5m last season after securing Champions League qualification.
The financial gains from offloading Greenwood could continue for the Red Devils, who included an impressive 40 per cent sell-on clause in his Marseille deal. Should the Ligue 1 club sell him on, United will pocket almost half of the profit from the transfer fee.
Following his contribution to his team’s 2-1 victory against Newcastle in November, Greenwood faces English opposition once more as Liverpool visit the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday.
The forward has scored just once against the Reds in five encounters, with his solitary goal coming in a 3-2 victory for United over their rivals in the FA Cup fourth round in 2021.
