Richard Arnold claims Manchester United ‘did not know’ about Mason Greenwood and Antony problems

Richard Arnold has claimed that Manchester United knew nothing about the behaviours of Mason Greenwood and Antony before the allegations surrounding the two players surfaced.

This is according to The Athletic, who have reported on a meeting that took place between Richard Arnold and all Manchester United staff on 18 September.

Erik ten Hag‘s team have been hit with multiple abuse scandals, with both Mason Greenwood and Antony being accused of domestic abuse in the last two years.

Read More: Manchester United make a decision on Jadon Sancho’s January future

While Greenwood’s case was resolved and no charges were made against the player by the Crown Prosecution Service, Antony’s case remains ongoing, with his ex-partner, Gabriella Cavallin, due to speak with Greater Manchester Police on Thursday.

Speaking in the all-staff meeting in September, one employee asked Arnold if the club knew of the allegations filed against Antony when they signed the player.

“As with every player, we conducted detailed due diligence, including the help of specialist third-party agencies externally,” Arnold replied. “Police reports remain confidential to the person submitting them to the police in Brazil. So people alleging (we knew) are not aware of how the process works in Brazil.

“And our due diligence did include checking legal records in Brazil, as it does for players that we bring in. So we did due diligence. This was not highlighted and indeed, the allegation in which people say that the police report was made was withdrawn at the time.

“And again, there’s coverage of that online and I won’t go into any more detail. So it’s absolutely not the case that we were aware of this and covered it up.

“On Mason Greenwood, there was no suspicion of violence or domestic abuse (before the allegations). The young man had some queries around his life choices. Some of those are high profile.

“So, for example, (the incident) with the England team in Iceland, many of you will be aware, but those are very different to the allegations that led to his suspension. And equally, a lot of effort was made to support Mason as he made the transition to the first team to make sure that he was responsible for his decisions and behaviour and those were reflective of the club.”

It was decided in August that Mason Greenwood would not play for Manchester United ever again after rumours of his re-integration into the squad led to significant backlash from fans.

Antony, however, has been reintroduced into Erik ten Hag’s team as charges are yet to be made by either Brazilian or British law enforcement and he has completed all his duties with respect to the investigation.