- Greenwood has enjoyed a positive start to life at Marseille under De Zerbi
- He was, however, taken off at half time in their 3-0 defeat on Sunday afternoon
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Mason Greenwood has come under fire from his Marseille manager following his performance against Paris Saint-Germain.
Greenwood has enjoyed a successful start to life in France after leaving Manchester United, seemingly settling on the back of his loan spell in Spain with Getafe last season.
It was decided he would leave Old Trafford after he was arrested in January 2022 before being charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour, though charges were dropped.
Greenwood, who is expecting his second child with partner Harriet Robson, lined up from the start in the highly-anticipated clash at the top of the division, but only made it until half time until he was hauled off by boss Roberto De Zerbi.
The former Brighton manager explained after the game why he took the former Red Devil off the field, pulling no punches with his explanation.
Mason Greenwood (pictured) has come under fire from his manager Roberto De Zerbi
De Zerbi slammed Greenwood for his performance after taking him off at half time of his side’s latest game
The forward started the game but was withdrawn at the interval with his side already 3-0 down
‘Because I didn’t like the way he played,’ the Italian explained. ‘If we want to compete for the title we have to push in all matches.
‘I think he was having a bad day. He gave us a lot of goals and points but when you’re at OM, if you want to fight for the championship, you have to push in every match.
‘You can’t say you’re doing a good performance by scoring two goals and then having a bad patch the next match. It’s not possible. He’s a good player but I expected more from him tonight. But not only from him. I always expect more in general.’
Marseille were up against it from the opening moments of the game when Joao Neves scored the opener before Amine Harit received a straight red card for a foul on Marquinhos.
Leonardo Balerdi scored an own goal before the half-hour mark and Bradley Barcola had made it three before half-time, putting the game out of reach for the 10-man hosts.
Greenwood was hooked at the interval, with fellow Englishman Jonathan Rowe replacing him, while striker Elye Wahi was also taken off, with Ismael Kone on in his place.
The game finished 3-0 as PSG extended their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table, and they are now three points ahead of Monaco in second and six ahead of Marseille in third.
Greenwood, meanwhile, has scored six goals in his first nine games for Marseille as he flourishes at his new club. He is thought to be earning around £70,000-a-week in Marseille after his England exile.
Charges against Greenwood were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service following the ‘withdrawal of key witnesses and new material coming to light’.
Last month, Pablo Longoria, the Marseille president, claimed that it was manager Roberto De Zerbi’s wish to sign Greenwood.
The Italian relayed his desire to bring in the forward during his first conversation with the board after being appointed as their manager in June.
Greenwood joined the French side in the summer after leaving boyhood club Manchester United
He has scored six goals in his first nine games for the club and is thought to be earning around £70,000-a-week
Greenwood had been on the hunt for a new club after it was decided he would leave Manchester United, where he had spent years as an academy prospect bfore graduating to the first team.
He made 129 appearances for United, scoring 35 goals before joining Marseille for £30million in the summer.
The former England international had not played for Man United since January 2022 and spent last season on loan at Getafe, scoring 10 goals and registering six assists on his way to being named the club’s player of the season.
His potential move to France sparked a backlash from livid Marseille fans, who launched a #GreenwoodNotWelcome campaign when he was initially linked with the club.
