By TOM COLLOMOSSE, FOOTBALL REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Mason Greenwood was roundly booed by Aston Villa fans, with the former Manchester United star playing football on English soil for the first time since January 2022 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Greenwood, 25, was regarded as a future star for United having risen through the club's prestigious academy, before his career in England unravelled following his arrest for attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour.
Subsequent charges were dropped in February 2023 when key witnesses withdrew. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Since leaving United in 2024, he has enjoyed spells at Getafe and Marseille, before leaving the French club to seal a £36million move to Turkish side Fenerbahce last summer.
Now, back in an English football ground for the first time in over four-and-a-half years, Greenwood was hardly going to slip under the radar.
Greenwood was booed by sections of the crowd at Villa Park when he jogged out for the warm-up – though Fenerbahce’s deafening support did its best to drown out the noise.
Mason Greenwood (pictured) was roundly booed by Aston Villa fans on Wednesday night
There was a similar reaction when the teams were read out and, during the early stages of the match, there were catcalls every time Greenwood touched the ball.
He has a solitary England cap, from a Nations League meeting in Iceland in September 2020. He is also eligible for Jamaica but last year he decided against accepting the call from then-boss Steve McClaren. Before tonight, Greenwood had six goals in 14 appearances for the Istanbul giants.
This was not the first time Greenwood had crossed swords with Villa, having had his shirt partly torn by Tyrone Mings during a pre-season friendly against Marseille in August 2025, following an altercation with Villa midfielder Amadou Onana.
Greenwood, 25, was perhaps grateful that the 6ft 5in Onana missed Wednesday's match due to injury.
More to follow.