Lazio club president takes aim at Mason Greenwood as he claims the Italian club don’t sign ‘mercenaries’ after the winger snubbed the Eagles for Marseille
- Marseille signed Mason Greenwood from Manchester United in the summer
- Lazio reportedly rejected a bid for the 23-year-old before he went to France
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Lazio president Claudio Lotito has claimed he has no regrets about not being able to sign Mason Greenwood from Manchester United this summer.
The Serie A club reportedly had a bid rejected for the winger in the summer transfer window by United following his prolific season on loan at Getafe.
Greenwood went on to score ten times and assist six goals in LaLiga, attracting the interest of many European clubs, including the Italian side.
However, they were beaten to the 23-year-old’s signature by Marseille, who completed a £30 million deal with United to bring him to France.
Three months after missing out on the striker, Lotito has spoken out about his feelings over Greenwood’s dismissal of Lazio.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito has ‘no regrets’ about missing Mason Greenwood
Greenwood turned down the Serie A side to sign for Marseille from Manchester United in July
“It’s not regret at all,” Lotito said. ‘We don’t want mercenaries. He is happy at Marseille, Mason has made a choice and that is fine. We don’t accept mercenaries, we only want those who choose Lazio.”
However, Greenwood’s transfer to Marseille was marred by controversy. The attacker was arrested in January 2022 on charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive behaviour.
The charges were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service following the ‘withdrawal of key witnesses and the coming to light of new material’.
Last month, Marseille president Pablo Longoria claimed it was Roberto de Zerbi’s wish to sign Greenwood.
The Italian revealed his desire to emerge as a striker during his first meeting with the board after being appointed manager in June.
Speaking about the decision at the Thinking Football Summit, Longoria said: “We made the decision internally.
Greenwood scored five goals in seven games for the French team and also assisted once
“Okay, there was some opposition, which was objective, but at the same time gave us the power to maybe not do an investigation, because I’m not a judge, but to use all the information to make the best decision, which I think we have done. .’
Greenwood scored five goals in seven games in Ligue 1, scoring them all in his first three games for Marseille.