Jose Mourinho’s dream may come true after Mason Greenwood’s goodbye to Manchester United
Jose Mourinho may finally be able to handle Mason Greenwood at Roma after being denied the opportunity to do so at Manchester United.
Greenwood will leave the Red Devils this summer after it was announced on Monday that he will not be reintegrated into Erik ten Hag’s first-team squad.
According to the Daily Mail, United have already been contacted by many clubs interested in signing Greenwood, with Roma among those intrigued.
Mourinho is said to be a ‘admirer’ of the 21-year-old and would jump at the chance to work alongside him at Roma if the opportunity arose.
Greenwood was a teenage potential in United’s academy while Mourinho was at Old Trafford, but he left an indelible impact on the Portuguese manager.
He attempted to call Greenwood up to the senior team when he was only 15 years old, but red tape prevented him from doing so, thus he never had the opportunity to manage the forward.
Under Mourinho, Nicky Butt, United’s head of first-team development, had told The Athletic that Greenwood could not practice with the senior group despite his manager’s requests.
“He [Mourinho] would ask me which players I wanted to move up,” said Butt. “He asked ‘who is this kid Greenwood?’ when Mason was 15, ‘bring him to train with us’, and I said ‘we can’t, because he’s at school and there are rules and regulations’.”
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will ultimately get to work together Greenwood at Roma, as the final terms of his exit from United are still being worked out.
A permanent sale, a loan move, or a mutual termination of his £75,000-per-week contract, which is slated to expire in the summer of 2025, are now on the table.
United announced in a statement on Monday that, while they think Greenwood did not commit the offenses he was accused of last year, he would not be returning to first-team responsibilities after it was agreed that he should rebuild his career elsewhere.
“All those involved, including Mason, recognise the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United,” the statement reads. “It has therefore been mutually agreed that it would be most appropriate for him to do so away from Old Trafford and we will now work with Mason to achieve that.
“Based on the evidence available, we have concluded material posted online did not provide a full picture and that Mason did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged. That said, as Mason publicly acknowledges, he has made mistakes which he is taking responsibility for.”
