Mason Greenwood came under fire from his own manager after Marseille lost at home to Lille. The former Manchester United striker faced harsh criticism from former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi. Greenwood joined Marseille last year shortly after charges of attempted rape, controlling/coercive behavior and assault were dropped. He denied all charges.
De Zerbi is generally satisfied with the forward, who has scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances in all competitions. However, the Italian manager did not hesitate to praise Greenwood’s performance against Lille.
He said, “We played poorly and deserved to lose. We couldn’t connect three passes. We lost all the second balls. Even with dribbling, we couldn’t beat anyone.”
“Defensively, we weren’t as aggressive as usual. We were passive from start to finish.
“For a player like Greenwood, it’s not enough to have one shot on target. It’s not enough to shoot infrequently.”
This comes in contrast to Greenwood who recently praised De Zerbi, crediting the Italian with reviving his footballing career.
The 24-year-old told Telefoot: “Thanks to my coach and teammates, I’m in a really good situation. I feel good and I want to improve this season to win more awards.”
“Roberto De Zerbi? He is the brains of the team and the architect of our game. He helps me understand football better and helps me improve every day.”
Greenwood was recently linked with a possible return to the England squad by former Watford striker Troy Deeney.
Despite obtaining Jamaican citizenship and a passport for the Caribbean country in August, Greenwood has yet to feature for the Jamaican national team.
In his column for The Sun, Deeney argued that Greenwood should be given another chance to represent England if his performances merited it.
“Football is not a place where people who make mistakes at a young age, whether suspected or not, are dismissed. This does not negate the seriousness of the allegations. Greenwood will live with them forever.”
“The truth is, he doesn’t owe an explanation to football supporters. It’s his friends and family that he has to prove himself to. But if he wants to come back to England, he has to talk about it in public, prove that he deserves to wear an England shirt and show that he can be trusted.”
“Rebuilding trust is the only way this can happen, and that’s incredibly difficult to achieve. It would be taxing on Greenwood himself to have to face such legitimate scrutiny. If Greenwood can face it and overcome it.”
“He deserves a second chance to represent England. If there is no turning back, this game will set a dangerous precedent. Any mistakes in your personal life will send a message that you will be excluded for good.”
