Ratcliffe opens door to Greenwood Man Utd return

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has opened the door to the possibility of Mason Greenwood returning to Manchester United after completing his minority takeover.

Ratcliffe has finally completed the purchase of a 25 percent stake in United for £1.25 billion ($1.57bn) in exchange for taking control of the club’s footballing operations. He gave his first round of interviews since completing the deal and said the club would make a fresh decision on Greenwood, who is currently on loan at Getafe and has not played for United since being arrested in January 2022 on charges of attempted rape among other alleged offences. All charges against him were later dropped.

“He’s a Manchester United footballer so we are in charge of football,” Ratcliffe told outlets including The Athletic. “So the answer is yes, we have to make decisions. There is no decision that’s been made. The process will be: understand the facts not the hype and then try and come to fair decision on the basis of values which is basically is he a good guy or not, and answer could he play sincerely for Manchester United well and would we be comfortable with it and would the fans be comfortable with it.”

United’s former chief executive Richard Arnold ultimately decided against reintegrating Greenwood into the United squad last summer following a furious backlash from fans when their plans to bring him back were leaked. After that decision, it was expected that Greenwood would never play for United again. The striker has since been getting his career back on track with Getafe.

United would risk another backlash from supporters and the public if they brought Greenwood back into the squad. The club have four months to make a decision on his future as his loan agreement with Getafe expires at the end of June. The Spanish side are hoping to sign him permanently although they are not likely to be able to afford him. Atletico Madrid have reportedly declared an interest in signing Greenwood, while Barcelona are also reportedly keen on the striker, who has scored five La Liga goals in 21 appearances