Former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood has been pictured back training in England with peers fresh off a goal-ridden campaign for French club Marseille
Mason Greenwood pictured training at Chadderton FC
Mason Greenwood is back in Manchester(Image: Instagram/@masongreenwood)
Mason Greenwood is back training in England, roughly 12 months after he departed his boyhood Manchester United for Marseille.
The Bradford-born striker joined the Red Devils' academy ranks at just six years old and prolifically graduated to a first-team debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2019. He soon became the club's youngest European goalscorer, aged 17.
In October 2022, the forward was charged with attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coersive behaviour. The Crown Prosecution Service later discontinued these proceedings, and all charges were dropped a year later.
After his arrest, Greenwood was suspended by United and sent on loan to Spanish side Getafe. Last July, he departed Old Trafford permanently for Ligue 1 in a deal worth £26.6million.
Just 12 months after his Manchester exit, Greenwood is back in the Manchester area and has been pictured training with what appears to be peers and coaches at Chadderton FC.
The North West Counties Football League Premier Division side are an established non-league outfit in Oldham, and Greenwood took to their brand new 3G pitch in order to complete a training session.
In a series of snaps uploaded to Instagram, Greenwood is pictured participating in sprints and shooting drills alongside former Red Devils team-mate D'Mani Mellor.
The pair graduated through United's academy together and Mellor appeared alongside Greenwood in an infamous 2-1 Europa League defeat against Kazakhstan-based side Astana in 2019. A youthful United side opened the scoring thanks to Jesse Lingard after 10 minutes, but were pegged back after 55 minutes before a Di'Shon Bernard own goal sealed an unexpected away loss.
Mason Greenwod and D'Mani Mellor training at Chadderton FC
Greenwood was training alongside former United team-mate Mellor
Mellor, who joined the club's youth setup at the age of eight, experienced a series of loan moves before departing permanently for Wycombe Wanderers in 2022.
The 24-year-old now plays for Macclesfield and was pictured alongside Greenwood earlier this month as the two took part in another training session at a Manchester-based facility.
Greenwood is currently predominately living in France, close to his club Marseille. The 23-year-old scored 21 league goals this season, tying atop the goal-scoring charts with Ballon d'Or contender and Champions League winner Ousmane Dembele.
His Marseille side finished in second place and will therefore grace the Champions League next season, with another ex-United starlet, Angel Gomes, a new recruit.
Greenwood's impact on this campaign was lauded by another of the club's midfielders, Adrien Rabiot, who told The Athletic: "Mason is an incredible player.
"If he hadn't had all of his problems, I think he'd have an image like (Jude) Bellingham. Mason would be the star. Because he's an exceptional player.
"He can score with his right foot and his left foot, he has an exceptional shot, he can dribble. We're very lucky to have him. When he's really focused, he does really great things."