Getafe, Marseille and now Fenerbahce may have overlooked Mason Greenwood’s history but Wednesday night proved English football fans will never forget. Good.
Greenwood was playing his first match on English soil for almost five years and he received the reception he would have anticipated anywhere within the country as Aston Villa supporters booed his every touch at Villa Park.
The former Manchester United forward appeared immune to the hostility, never rising to any possible flashpoints. While the volume of jeers varied each time he had the ball, they persisted until he went off in the 69th minute.
That substitution prompted the second round of “Greenwood, Greenwood, what’s the score?” from the home fans – who had directed other chants in his direction – with Villa running out emphatic 6-0 winners.
Fenerbahce looked threatening at times, but Greenwood had little impact on the game with former United teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka largely getting the better of the 25-year-old.
On this evidence, a Premier League return is not on the horizon for Greenwood, the three stands at Villa Park representing the animosity he would undoubtedly face elsewhere.
This was his first match in England since January 2022, the same month he was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault after videos, images and an audio file circulated on social media.
He was then further arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill in February 2022, before the charges were then dropped in February 2023 after the Crown Prosecution Service said “new material came to light”.
Greenwood, who denied the charges, was at United at the time, and though the club concluded “the material posted online did not provide a full picture”, they still reached a mutual agreement in August 2023 for the player to restart his career elsewhere.
He was loaned to Getafe, then sold to Marseille. There he faced Liverpool and Newcastle United on French soil last season, but after moving to Fenerbahce in the summer it was Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Villa that brought him back to England.
With Villa the opponents, Greenwood arrived with the potential for bad blood already talked up, having been involved in a scrap with Villa defender Tyrone Mings during a friendly for Marseille last summer.
Mings had grabbed Greenwood by the scruff of the neck on that occasion but no second round was forthcoming this time with the former an unused substitute.
Heading off to jeers in the second half, it was a performance below the standards Greenwood has enjoyed of late, but more pertinently a window into the reaction the one-cap international would get around England. No Premier League club would want that attention, beyond the strong potential of losing supporters in the process.
The England national team question could yet persist, unless he switches to Jamaica. He was given a Jamaican passport last year but then turned down a call-up from Steve McClaren.
In another universe, there would be no Jamaica consideration and instead Greenwood would be a contender to replace Harry Kane, with the search for the England captain’s successor as the national team’s No 9 still very much open.
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Greenwood has the numbers to stake a claim. He scored 26 goals at Marseille last season and already his six goals for Fenerbahce this term. His versatility means he can play across the front line, and he assists regularly too.
But none of that matters, for it is in this universe where the allegations came to light, and rightly, he does not have the support. Not of England manager Thomas Tuchel – who confirmed last year the player is not in his thoughts – nor English football fans.
Even if England were desperate, if an aging Kane – who will be 36 at the 2030 World Cup – really has no one to pass the No 9 baton to, then Greenwood should still be overlooked.
He has already been granted a fresh start by playing football on the continent, and some would argue that is more than he deserves.
Wednesday night though suggested there will be no second chance at international level, nor in the Premier League. Fan power means those two routes back to England are surely blocked for good.