Mourinho rejected Greenwood
Roma are said to be one of the teams interested in signing Greenwood, as they are in need of a striker to replace Tammy Abraham who is on long-term break following a knee injury. But according to Il Tempo newspaper on August 22, coach Mourinho and the Roma leadership agreed that they would not recruit Greenwood, because they wanted to stay away from the noise and trouble related to this 21-year-old striker.
"Like the club's view, Mourinho does not want to be involved with Greenwood after allegations of rape and domestic violence against his girlfriend," this Italian newspaper wrote.
The Portuguese coach worked and gave Greenwood a chance when he was still managing Man Utd. In 2018, the "Special One" promoted the English striker - then 16 years old - to the first team, participating in a pre-season tour in the US.
This summer, Roma signed Houssem Aouar, Evan Ndicka, Leandro Paredes, Diego Llorente, Rasmus Kristensen, Renato Sanches and parted ways with Benjamin Tahirovic, Justin Kluivert, Roger Ibanez, Nemanja Matic. Mourinho's team has just reached an agreement to recruit Duvan Zapata from Atalanta and is considering the possibility of loaning Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku.
Steven Gerrard - the coach of Saudi club Al Ettifaq - also denied the possibility of signing Greenwood. On August 22, the British coach posted an article that Al Ettifaq was ready to offer Greenwood a contract of $ 12 million on Instagram Story with the message "fake news".
According to the British newspaper Sportmail, there are currently only a few Turkish clubs - including Galatasaray and Istanbul Bacakcehir - ready to recruit Greenwood. The English striker will leave Man Utd on loan with an option to buy, or terminate the current contract, which is still valid until the summer of 2025.
Greenwood was arrested on January 30, 2022, when images and videos related to the assault on his girlfriend Harriet Robson went viral on social media. The 21-year-old striker is accused of "repeatedly engaging" in controlling and coercing his girlfriend for nearly four years - including making threats and making offensive comments on social media. He is also charged with attempting to rape the woman on October 21, 2021, and allegedly assaulting her between December 12 and December 31, 2021.
On February 2, the Royal Prosecution Service (CPS) stopped criminal proceedings against Greenwood because key officials withdrew from the investigation. Therefore, according to English law, Greenwood is innocent, and the future of the 21-year-old striker completely depends on Man Utd's decision. But after six months of internal investigation, on August 21, Man Utd announced the separation of Greenwood on the basis of consensus, due to fear of backlash from staff, fans, public opinion and politicians in the UK.
Greenwood was the youngest player to play for Man Utd in the Champions League, at 17 years old. Greenwood has scored 35 goals in 129 games for the team. He also played one match for England, against Iceland on August 25, 2020 in the UEFA Nations League. He last played for Man Utd in the 1-0 win over West Ham on January 22, 2022.
