Mason Greenwood and his history of bad behaviour at Manchester United

The Crown Prosecution Service may have dropped the attempted rape case against Manchester United player Mason Greenwood in February, but the club is still conducting its own investigation into the matter. Likewise, the player's history of bad behaviour appears to be coming back to haunt him.

The 21-year-old was suspended from training and playing by Manchester United back in January 2022 when a woman accused him of attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.

At that time, the club issued a statement saying that they will wait for the conclusion of the legal proceedings before taking any further actions beyond the suspension. Now, a little over a year since Greenwood was arrested, United has decided to pursue an internal investigation even though the CPS declared in February that the case was to be dropped after crucial witnesses failed to cooperate and "there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction."

Criticism against Cristiano Ronaldo

It is unclear exactly what the internal investigation by the club is seeking to uncover, but the Daily Mail has revealed a number of unpleasant details about Greenwood's behaviour in the early days of his time with the Red Devils. One incident in particular involves international superstar and club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to sources, Greenwood had been vocal in his criticism of the Portuguese star, saying that the latter's career was "dead" at the time when he was still with Spanish giants Real Madrid. It may be pointed out that Ronaldo won four of his whopping five Champions League trophies with Real Madrid and they had been reigning champions when he left the club in 2018. It is unclear why Greenwood had been saying at the time that Ronaldo's career was heading downhill.

Manchester United officials reportedly had to step in to tell Greenwood to watch his language against Ronaldo, who later re-joined the club in 2021.

Greenwood was a bully at the United youth academy

As it turns out, Greenwood did not only have harsh words against international superstars who have achieved much more than him. According to a report by The Athletic, he also called his academy team-mates "s*** to their face."

Greenwood was reportedly highly critical of fellow academy players when he felt like they were not playing at his level. "He knew he was a good player and was cutting, he wasn't shy about telling someone they were s***," said a source.

Staff members were reportedly forced to devise a strategy to steer Greenwood away from his immature behaviour.

Apart from his scathing remarks against Ronaldo and his aggressive behavior towards academy teammates, Greenwood has also made threats about joining the Red Devils' cross-city rivals Manchester City. He apparently brought this up during a particularly tense training session.

Manchester United decides to pursue an investigation

It is unclear if the factors mentioned above have anything to do with United's decision to conduct an internal investigation on the player despite the court's dismissal of his case. In a statement, United said: "Manchester United notes the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service that all charges against Mason Greenwood have been dropped. The club will now conduct its own process before determining next steps. We will not make any further comment until that process is complete."

Apart from the continuation of his suspension at the club, Greenwood also lost his lucrative sponsorship deal with Nike last year. The prominent sporting goods brand has not confirmed if they will reinstate Greenwood as an endorser after the charges against him were dropped.

Nevertheless, Greenwood is happy to have put the legal ordeal behind him. After the case was dismissed, he said: "I am relieved this matter is now over. I would like to thank my family, loved ones and friends for their support."

Despite this, it is unclear if he will ever play for United again despite still being under contract until 2025. If they decide to offload him, he may still have a long career ahead of him if he finds the right club.