Mason Greenwood reportedly “paid the price” for “some friction” with manager Habib Bayet last week, and was dropped to the substitute bench in Sunday’s Ligue 1 opener against Nice. The former Manchester United striker has scored 25 goals in 42 games this season and is Marseille’s main marksman, but was left out of the starting XI for the crucial league game against Nice.
In his pre-kick-off speech, Bey suggested Greenwood’s decision to withdraw was due to the management of an injury sustained last month. “We have been keeping an eye on Mason since the beginning of the week, but he is very limited in fitness due to the injury he sustained at Lille,” said Bey, who replaced Roberto de Zerbi as Marseille’s new manager in February.
“He has played two games with significant pain and we cannot put him at risk.”
However, Futto Mercato later reported that Greenwood’s injury was not the only reason Bey considered him as a possible replacement.
Indeed, it has been suggested that the former Getafe player is being benched and facing disciplinary action because he is “paying for the conflict with the coach” during training.
Bay eventually set his sights on Greenwood and introduced him in the 63rd minute at the Stade Velodrome. Despite this, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s header in the second half was canceled out by Elie Wahi’s late penalty, and Marseille could not lead the team to victory.
As a result, Marseille have fallen to 6th place in the Ligue 1 table, with a four-point difference from Lyon in third place in the race for a spot in the Champions League. The French club have three league games left, starting with an away trip to Nantes, before taking on Le Havre and Rennes.
Greenwood joined Marseille from United in 2024 for £27m and proved to be a great signing, scoring 47 goals and providing 16 assists in 78 appearances.
However, he was not the only notable player Bey chose to leave on the bench against Nice, as Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri struggled to adjust to life in France and remained unused throughout the match.
Bayet defended his choice to replace Nwaneri, saying: “He is a quality player but he has to contribute more to us with his efforts every day. Other players have contributed more.”
