French Ligue 1 giants, Marseille have opened up on the situation surrounding Mason Greenwood’s future at the club.
Greenwood had a remarkable debut season in the south of France, finishing as the joint-top scorer in the Ligue 1 alongside Ousmane Dembele with 21 goals.
The English forward played in every Ligue 1 match this season and his contributions secured UEFA Champions League qualification and second-place for Marseille.
Greenwood arrived in Marseille from Manchester United on a €30 million deal in July 2024, but it was just for 50 per cent of the 23-year-old’s economic value.
The deal means Marseille and Man Utd share half of the player’s economic value but the Olympians have now confirmed their plans to buy more of the player’s rights from United this summer.
During a press briefing on Monday, Marseille president, Pablo Longoria said that the club will be meeting with Manchester United representatives to have more investment in Greenwood.
“He’s a key player in the squad. Naturally, we’d like to give him continuity,” Longoria was quoted by Sports Talk Florida.
“As with every player, we need to have an individual discussion with him. But he’s happy here — that’s what came out of our recent conversations. We’re obviously very satisfied with his performances this season.
“Regarding his contractual situation, we bought 50% of the player’s economic rights, on his full value. It was the only way to make an offer higher than those of other clubs to Manchester United.
“This formula was also made possible thanks to the player’s desire to join Olympique de Marseille. Qualifying for the Champions League commits us to buying an additional percentage, around 10%, which allows us to increase our ownership of the player. This is part of the initial agreement and also shows our willingness to invest in him over the long term.”
Greenwood is rewriting his own story
Greenwood’s arrival in the south of France in July 2024, as expected, raised so many questions with a section of Marseille fanbase divided because of the controversy that he was involved in England.
His starring performances in Roberto De Zerbi’s team this season have proven doubters wrong and he has his eyes set on playing for Marseille in the Champions League next season.
Greenwood is yet to make an appearance in the elite European competition while Marseille, 1993 champions, last appearance in the competition was in the 2022-23 season.
He also revelled in his goal-scoring feat as a personal achievement, even though he had to share the golden boot with Dembele.
“I’m not disappointed to be the joint top scorer but I’m happy we had a great season, we finished second and we qualified for the Champions League,” Greenwood said after scoring a brace against Rennes on Saturday.
“It’s a good first season with the team, scoring a lot of goals and I’m happy to perform in front of the fans. I can’t wait to play in the Champions League.
“Hopefully, I can keep improving and with all the players. I believe the team will also improve next season.”
