Mason Greenwood, who joined Marseille over the summer for about £26 million, has been in excellent form, netting five goals in his first six matches for the French side.
The 23-year-old spent last season on loan with La Liga club Getafe and hadn’t played for Manchester United, his boyhood club, since January 2022.
Once regarded as one of the top young talents at Old Trafford – having made over 100 first-team appearances by age 20 – Greenwood was released after a six-month internal review into his behavior.
Charges against Greenwood, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February 2023.
His strong performances for Marseille have caught the attention of Barcelona, who have now made him a prime target ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
According to The Sun, Barcelona are preparing a significant bid for Greenwood after sending scouts to at least four of his matches this season.
Barcelona had reportedly monitored Greenwood during his loan spell at Getafe and were impressed by his displays.
Currently leading La Liga by three points, Barcelona will face stiff competition for Greenwood, with Paris Saint-Germain also expressing interest in the forward.
PSG might have an advantage, as Greenwood has adapted well to life in France since his move from Manchester.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid have also been linked to the Englishman, but Barcelona’s interest seems to be the most serious at this point.
Marseille, now third in Ligue 1, faced criticism from their city’s mayor for signing Greenwood, but the club’s president has defended the decision. Greenwood has formed a good partnership with Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi, formerly of Brighton.
‘The comments of the mayor reinforce what we did, [they did] not have all the information,’ Marseille chief Pablo Longoria said.
‘We took the decision internally. OK, there was some opposition, that was objective, but at the same time that gave us power to maybe not investigate, because I am not a judge, but to use all the information to take the best decision, which I think we did.
‘In our very first conversation with the coach [Roberto de Zerbi] we mentioned Mason’s name.
‘The coach knew Mason from the past and it was a very quick conversation at the start between all of us because we believe in the talent of Mason.
‘There were a lot of conversations between all of us in the weeks leading up to his move. He is behaving fantastically with us and we are very happy to have him playing in our team.’
Greenwood’s former team, Manchester United, have had a difficult start to the new season, leading to growing rumors about the future of their embattled manager, Erik ten Hag.
With only seven points from their first six matches, United’s 3-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday has dropped them to 13th place in the Premier League standings.
