COLUMN: We need to talk about Mason Greenwood - La Liga's elephant in the room, Mestalla and a culture problem
Mason Greenwood scored a goal this weekend. That in itself isn’t surprising – the English winger, on loan from Manchester United, has had a superb season at Getafe and is capitalising on the promise he displayed as a teenager at Old Trafford.
Greenwood sprinted behind the Las Palmas defense on Saturday, rounded goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, and deposited his right-footed shot into the net on 14 minutes. That was the second in a six-goal thriller at the Coliseum, a 3-3 draw between two sides headed for midtable stability. Greenwood is now up to six goals and five assists across 23 appearances in La Liga, and he has routinely been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – clubs to which the 22-year-old could realistically move in the summer. Atletico have reportedly even made contact with his representation already.
Yet there remains no divorcing Greenwood’s presence at Getafe (of all clubs) from the events that led him there in the first place, amid allegations so disturbing that Man United realised there was no way he could stay after he missed the entire 2022/23 season. La Liga’s open embrace of Greenwood has saved the player’s career, and – in addition to events that took place at Mestalla on Saturday night – produced more questions about the culture those who run the Spanish top flight are espousing on and off the pitch.
Last month, Getafe manager Jose Bordalas described Greenwood as a “ great guy ” who has displayed “exemplary behaviour” throughout his short time in Madrid. Those comments came in light of accusations that Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham called Greenwood a “rapist” during Madrid’s 2-0 win at the Coliseum on the first of February. The reason? Greenwood in 2022 stood
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