The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, expresses his desire for Manchester United’s loaned forward, Mason Greenwood, to remain in Spanish football once his tenure with Getafe concludes.
In September, Mason Greenwood joined Getafe on deadline day after Manchester United changed their initial plan of retaining him at the club. This decision followed an internal investigation into Greenwood’s conduct, prompted by the collapse of a legal case against him.
During this period, Manchester United indicated that it would be beneficial for Greenwood to seek playing opportunities elsewhere and strongly suggested that the English forward might not return to the club.
However, recently, United’s new co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, mentioned to BBC Sport that it might be prudent to reevaluate the situation, though he did not specify whether he favored Greenwood’s return to Old Trafford or not.
Following his participation in the Financial Times Business of Football Conference in London, La Liga president Javier Tebas, drawing from his legal background, expressed disinterest in passing judgment on Greenwood. He noted that while the charges against the 22-year-old had been dismissed, he refrained from characterizing the situation as Greenwood being found “innocent.”
“I am a lawyer,” he said. “If someone came out of a legal case innocent there is nothing else to say.
“He is doing really well as a player and I hope he continues to stay in Spanish football. That is good for us.”
When pressed further on the matter, Tebas said if a player had “not been condemned” it was not for La Liga to put him on trial.
“You should respect legal process,” he said. “People might be condemning him in the press but you have to respect the legal decision. There is nothing else to talk about.
“He wasn’t condemned [found guilty] here so I don’t care.”
In all competitions this season, Greenwood has contributed seven goals and five assists in 25 appearances for Getafe.
Currently, La Liga is probing a formal complaint lodged by Getafe regarding an alleged comment made by Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham towards Greenwood during their match on 1st February. The incident occurred after Bellingham, an England international, tackled Greenwood in Real’s 2-0 victory, and subsequently, a clip of the incident gained traction on social media.
La Liga has initiated an investigation and has requested an expert lip-reading analysis. However, the inquiry has not reached a conclusion yet.
There have been reports in some media outlets suggesting that Greenwood wishes for the investigation to be dropped.
Speaking at the FT event about Bellingham’s impact on La Liga, Tebas added: “He is not one of the best English players, he is the best English player at the moment.
“It is very important to have the best players in the world playing in La Liga. He brings value to the competition.
“I don’t think anyone expected him to make the impact that he has. I hope he continues like that for many years.”