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03.02.2022 » Will Man United be weaker without Greenwood?
The Premier League will make its return this weekend, after a 2-week interruption for an international break. If you missed the action last month and are excited with the upcoming games, you can grab a 25 euro bonus from selected bookmakers and bet on your favorite team. During this time, however, the headlines in England were all about Mason Greenwood, who has been accused of sexual assault against his girlfriend. The 20-year old, who already played 129 games for Manchester United's first team since the 2018-19 season, was arrested by the local police on January 30, on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill his girlfriend, Harriet Robson. Earlier this week however, the English international was already released on bail pending further investigation.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Like a thunder:
Shocking allegations lead to serious consequences...
Following the serious accusations made to Greenwood last week, there were multiple signs coming to surface that made the public believe that the English footballer may be deemed guilty of several crimes. One of those, if not the biggest one, was triggered by his own club, Manchester United, who immediately decided to suspend his player from playing or even training at the club, until further notice. This obviously suggests the club has access to more information and that Greenwood's future in football could be in serious risk.
In a strong statement issued a few hours after the news broke, Manchester United's main concern was obviously to defend its own image and clarify they do not support any sort of violent conducts:
«The club is aware of images and allegations circulating on social media.»
«Manchester United does not condone violence of any kind.»
«Mason Greenwood will not return to training or play matches until further notice.»
With the 20-year old now on bail and most likely waiting for the start of the case in court, his future doesn't look bright. Almost everyone seems to have turned the back on him already, from his club, his sponsors, or even his teammates like Cristiano Ronaldo, who already unfollowed him on social media. At this point it seems fair to believe that United may have lost one of their most promising talents in recent years...
The pros and cons from Greenwood's suspension...
If we narrow our attention strictly to what happens inside the football pitch, it's not difficult to understand that Manchester United will have less options in the attack for the remaining of the season and that can never be seen as something positive. Greenwood was one of United's top scorer in the Premier League this season with 5 goals in 18 appearances (Cristiano Ronaldo has 8 goals in the same amount of fixtures) and he was a regular choice in the team's starting eleven both in domestic and international competitions.
Greenwood's verticality in attack, his ambidextrous feet and his incredibly talent to beat opponents and score goals, has made of him one of the most promising footballers in the entire world since he made his debut for Manchester United in 2018.
However and if there's anything positive United can take from all these unfortunate incidents, is the fact that without Greenwood in the picture, other players will have more playing time, more opportunities to grow and more chances to establish themselves as regular choices in the starting eleven. Not only that, but with Mason Greenwood often accused of being a bit too selfish in Manchester United's attack, it's possible that the team's chemistry in the last third of the pitch also improves a bit from now on and players like Ronaldo also benefit from players with different players...
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Manchester United is on February 4, against Middlesbrough. You can watch Man United vs Middlesbrough, Athletic Bilbao vs Real Madrid, Inter vs AC Milan, Manchester City vs Fulham, Chelsea vs Plymouth, and Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig, all matches provided from our live football game pages.
Manchester United next game:
Manchester United vs Middlesbrough kick-off time (04-02-2022):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 03:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 16:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / si.com / eurosport.com / skysports.com
