According to reports, Getafe alleges that Manchester United has activated an extension clause in Mason Greenwood’s contract, which could bolster their negotiation stance this summer.
Greenwood, 22, hasn’t featured for the Red Devils since January 2022 following allegations of attempted rape, controlling behavior, and assault.
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At the beginning of last year, all charges against him were dropped, and United, after an extensive internal review, were contemplating reintegrating him into the squad.
However, they were compelled to reconsider their decision due to significant public backlash. Instead, last summer’s deadline day saw him move to Spain, where he has begun to rejuvenate his career.
Greenwood, during his loan spell at Getafe in La Liga, has showcased impressive form, scoring six goals and providing five assists in 25 appearances.
His stellar performance has attracted interest from various European clubs, including Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, with Juventus also rumored to be interested.
United were anticipated to sell him this summer primarily due to his precarious contract situation, with his current deal set to expire in 2025.
If he stays beyond this summer, United risk losing him for nothing next year, as Greenwood would be free to negotiate with foreign clubs from January onwards.
As is customary with most of their contracts, United included a clause in Greenwood’s deal allowing them to automatically trigger a one-year extension, potentially keeping him at the club until 2026.
While there were concerns about the optics of extending Greenwood’s contract given the previous backlash, reports suggest that it might have already occurred.
Getafe believes that the contract clause has been activated, having left talks with United officials with the understanding that Greenwood’s deal will now run until 2026.
United, however, maintain that no decision has been finalized yet, and they are in no hurry to activate the option, as they can do so anytime before May 2025.
Although not obliged to disclose it, the club typically announces if a contract extension has been triggered or at least briefs the media.
It’s speculated that Getafe might benefit from other clubs assuming Greenwood still has two years left on his contract, increasing their chances of keeping him on loan next season and boosting the price United could command for his transfer.
This latter point is crucial, given that the terms of Greenwood’s loan agreement entitle Getafe to 20 per cent of any future sale.
The decision over whether to trigger Greenwood’s extension will lie with minority owners Ineos, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe saying this year: ‘We will make a decision, correct.
‘All I can do is talk about the principle of how we will approach decisions like that. Is he the right type of footballer, are we happy with if he is a good person or not?
‘He’s a Manchester United footballer, so we are in charge of football.
‘So the answer is, ‘yeah, we have to make decisions’. It’s quite clear we have to make a decision. There is no decision that’s been made. He’s on-loan obviously, but he’s not the only one. We’ve got one or two footballers that we have to deal with and we have to make a decision on, so we will do that.
‘The process will be: understand the facts not the hype, and then try and come to fair decision on the basis of values, which is basically is he a good guy or not?
‘Could he play sincerely for Manchester United, would we be comfortable with it and would the fans be comfortable with it?’
