Tottenham fans have been eager for the relegation-threatened club to bring in a replacement as quickly as possible after Igor Tudor was axed just 44 days into his spell as head coach.
But Spurs’ decision to narrow down their search to Roberto De Zerbi has not been well received by some corners of the fanbase – and it’s the Italian’s previous comments about Mason Greenwood which have caused such friction.
Official confirmation of De Zerbi’s appointment arrived this evening, with the ex-Brighton boss putting pen to paper on a five-year deal in north London – his first job since leaving Marseille by mutual consent last month.
Throughout his near two-year-long spell in charge of Marseille, De Zerbi threw his support behind Greenwood, a player once lauded as a potential superstar of English football.
However, Greenwood’s move to Marseille was filled with controversy given it came two-and-a-half years after he had been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault (on January 31, 2022) while still a Manchester United player. He was further arrested on February 1, 2022 on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill.
The young forward was subsequently charged on October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Greenwood denied the charges.
The Manchester United academy product had been due to stand trial in November 2023, only for the charges to be dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] in February 2023.
‘A combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction,’ the CPS said in a statement.
What comments did Roberto De Zerbi make about Mason Greenwood?
Marseille received heavy criticism over their decision to sign Greenwood back in 2024, with the city’s mayor, Benoit Payan, even urging the club not to bring in the player at the time.
But De Zerbi, who was appointed just 19 days before the transfer was agreed, suggested he was supportive of the idea as Marseille closed in on a deal for the England international.
‘Mason is a world-class player, but we have not recruited him yet,’ De Zerbi told reporters when asked about a proposed agreement for Greenwood.
‘I don’t know what happened, but I am not used to get involved in my players’ private life.
‘But if he comes here, you have to know that I treat all my players like my sons. I can tell them off in private, but I would never attack them in public.’
Once Greenwood was through the doors, De Zerbi insisted the former Manchester United attacker – who has been capped once by the England national team – was a ‘good guy’.
He also suggested he was ‘saddened’ by how Greenwood had been represented by the press in his native England.
‘He’s a good guy, he paid a heavy price for what happened, a very heavy price,’ De Zerbi said in the media when asked about Greenwood last November.
‘He has found the right environment for him. We have lent him a hand and given him affection. He’s a little bit introverted but I know him and his family.
‘It saddens me what happened in his life, because I know a totally different person than the one who was described in England.’
