Mason Greenwood goals for Marseille will ‘calm controversies’, says De Zerbi

The Marseille head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has said he hopes Mason Greenwood’s debut goals on Saturday will “calm the controversies” around the striker.

Greenwood left Manchester United this summer, signing a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 side after the clubs agreed a £26.6m fee. The forward had not played for United since being suspended in January 2022 and spent 2023-24 on loan at the Spanish side Getafe.

Greenwood was suspended by Manchester United over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online. He faced charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February last year that the case had been discontinued.

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The England international started Marseille’s opening Ligue 1 match and scored twice in a 5-1 win at Brest. That led De Zerbi, the former Brighton manager, to tell the Marseille website: “I am happy that he scored. It will calm the controversies that surrounded his arrival.”

The 22-year-old was booed throughout Saturday’s game in Brittany but the Italian said: “Mason Greenwood is a player different from the others, he has an extraordinary level.”

Marseille’s decision to sign Greenwood this summer led to an online backlash from their fans, while the city’s mayor, Benoît Payan, warned the club that signing Greenwood would go against “the values ​​of OM [Olympique Marseille] and [the city of] Marseille.”

De Zerbi, who met with Marseille supporter groups last week in a traditional pre-season get-together, recently told the sports newspaper L’Équipe that Greenwood was “the first player I called” after taking the job. “I [told him] that when a player becomes my player, I’m the first to pin him to the wall when he makes a mistake,” he added. “But towards the outside [world], I will always defend him as I would defend my son.”