“Disturbing” Manchester United told they must donate Mason Greenwood’s transfer funds to charity

Manchester United have been called to donate the profits of Mason Greenwood’s sale to Marseille to domestic abuse charities following his arrest in 2022.

Mason Greenwood was arrested on suspicion of rape, assault, and coercive control in January 2022 following videos and voice recordings on social media that claimed he was domestically abusing his partner.

He was immediately suspended by Manchester United and put under house arrest as the Crown Prosecution Service investigated his case. However, the charges were ultimately dropped following “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” in early 2023.

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Following their own investigation into the matter, the club ultimately decided that it would be best if he resumed his career away from Old Trafford, where he embarked on loan to La Liga club Getafe.

He performed well in Spain, leading to the eventual transfer to Ligue 1 side Marseille, who have paid an upfront fee of £23.3 million plus a further £3.4 million in add-ons. United also retain a 50% sell-on clause should Marseille sell him in the future.

However, some have reacted poorly to the news that United have ultimately made millions off Greenwood’s sale following the allegations made against him, and David Challen, a domestic abuse campaigner and survivor, has led calls for United to donate the profits from Greenwood’s sale to charity.

“Man United is a massive global sports club that rakes in hundreds of millions a year and that they didn’t release a player – which they could have done quite easily – and chose to retain him for their own financial needs, really prioritises the financial needs of the company above women,” Challen told i.

The report explains that Challen “is the son of Sally Challen, whose conviction for the murder of her husband was quashed on appeal in 2019 and reduced to manslaughter after findings that she had been subjected to years of domestic abuse”.

“It seems to be a phase of the vision of what’s happening at Man United anyway. It’s a disturbing insight into the culture at Man United and how they are treating women, pushing them quite literally to the side and the periphery of the club.”

Further, Challen went on to insinuate that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the new co-owner of Manchester United, has less of a care towards women, with this being apparently evident after he chose to attend United’s fixture against Arsenal in the Premier League over their Women team’s FA Cup final.

“He cares about success on the pitch for the men’s team, but the women won a major trophy [the FA Cup], and he wasn’t even there.”

This is not a new allegation after Ratcliffe referred to United’s men’s team as the “first team” when asked in an interview last month if he has made any significant plans for the women’s side at the club.

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