Manchester United are not generally talked about when it comes to clubs selling well but the Mason Greenwood transfer alone is now shaping up to catapult them into conversation.
Ineos passed their first window at Man Utd last summer with flying colours, earning north of £100 million in sales, with Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay headlining the departures.
Both were sold for about £26 million each but the Greenwood deal is shaping up to be a remarkable masterstroke for United.
The reports of a sell-on clause for his eventual transfer from Marseille were already there, but Marseille president Pablo Longoria has just confirmed an insane detail in that transfer that would shower money on United this summer, as well as the future.
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Man Utd masterstroke in Mason Greenwood transfer
For starters, it must be said that moving Greenwood on for any sum was an unqualified win for Man Utd because he was never going to play for the club again.
In that context, getting £25 million for him would have been a good deal in isolation, never mind the sell-on clause.
However, with Greenwood shining at Marseille, that sell-on clause was set to come in handy too, even though the player confirmed plans to stay at least for this season.
Marseille president Pablo Longoria has now confirmed that even Greenwood staying will see United earn money since Marseille qualified for the UCL.
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As it turns out, Marseille bought just 50% of the player’s economic rights last summer and are obligated to buy a further 10% this season after qualifying for UCL.
He said: “Regarding his contractual situation, we purchased 50% of the player’s economic rights, representing his entire value.
“This was the only way to make an offer that was higher than those made by other clubs to Manchester United. This arrangement was also made possible by the player’s desire to join Olympique de Marseille.
“Qualifying for the Champions League means we are obliged to purchase an additional percentage, around 10%, which allows us to increase our ownership stake in the player.”
His comments mean that United still retain 40% of the player’s economic rights, which means they will be entitled to 40% of the transfer fee Marseille get if and when they sell Greenwood.
This is a huge improvement on what was initially thought of as a percentage on profit clause, where United would get 40% of the profit Marseille make on their £25 million investment.
Man Utd will make bank from Mason Greenwood
When everything comes to pass, United could easily make at least £50-60 million from Greenwood’s transfer, so remarkable are the terms of negotiation.
For starters, United will possibly get £5 million more this season as Marseille will buy an additional 10% of the player.
Because they paid £25 million for 50% of his rights, that turns out to be £5 million for each 10%, taking the total transfer fee to about £30 million.
Then, if Greenwood is sold for, say, £50 million, which is not unrealistic, United will get 40% of that, which amounts to £20 million, taking the total from Greenwood’s transfer to £50 million.
That’s not bad at all for an academy product of pure profit and a player who was never going to play for the club again.
Ineos won out.