Mason Greenwood 'secretly' meets up with Manchester United teammates in a bid to revive career

Mason Greenwood has reportedly met some of his Manchester United teammates in "secret" in a bid to revive his career at the Old Trafford.

Even though the rape charges against Greenwood have been dropped, the English forward is still not allowed to play or train with the first team while an internal investigation is underway at Manchester United.

"He's reached out to some of the United players, some of them he's known since his academy days. They've met up with him in private to hear him out so they can make their own mind up," an unnamed source told The Sun.

It is understood that Greenwood has also reached out through social media to other term-mates, some of whom are married and have kids.

In what would have been a ray of hope for Greenwood, he received a phone call from Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag after the former's case was dropped by prosecutors, the outlet revealed.

However, with Manchester United on a 16-match unbeaten streak, the squad is entirely focussed on on-field matters.

"There is a level of sympathy for someone who is innocent in the eyes of the law and a long-standing teammate. But the players are absolutely focused on keeping this juggernaut on the road," another source told The Sun.

Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 amid allegations surrounding images and videos that appeared on social media and has not played for the club since. Earlier this month, charges of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the 21-year-old football star was dropped.

The news about Greenwood's secret meet-up came after it was reported that Manchester United would collect a player opinion from their men's and women's leadership groups before deciding on the forward's future with the club.

While Greenwood's return to training is not expected to happen before the summer, there are some concerns over the same in both men's and women's dressing rooms of the club, while the Red Devils club's commercial partners are monitoring the situation, according to The Times.

It won't be wrong to say that Manchester United would be extra careful before taking a call in Greenwood's case, considering the club is also up for sale. The owners The Glazer family have also received official bids from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani, the chairman of QIB, a Qatari bank and Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos group. The richest British man, Ratcliffe, grew up supporting the Red Devils as a boy.

Greenwood has two-and-a-half-years remaining in his current contract with Manchester United, with an option to extend it by another season. The young forward has made 129 competitive appearances for Manchester United, scoring 35 goals and 12 assists across competitions, since making his senior debut in 2018-19.