Mason Greenwood’s international career has been unknown for a while, but he is still entitled to swap his allegiance from England, thus he might represent Jamaica in the future.
Following Manchester United’s decision to sever relations with the 21-year-old this week, Greenwood’s club future has become a little clearer more than 18 months after his initial arrest and subsequent charges of attempted rape, participating in controlling behavior, and assault.
The Crown Prosecution Service decided there was no longer a realistic chance of conviction in February 2023 after key witnesses withdrew and “new material that came to light.” Despite not having been found guilty of the alleged crimes in a court of law, Greenwood was not exonerated, as he falsely claimed in a statement this week.
After a six-month internal review, Manchester United made the decision to support Greenwood in continuing his career elsewhere. Although a permanent transfer is preferred, the teams who have expressed interest thus far are more interested in a loan.
This week, 90min claimed that one club thought to be prepared to offer Greenwood an opportunity to launch his career is Roma, which would imply a reunion with Jose Mourinho. In addition to Inter, Monaco, and clubs in Germany, Turkey, and Spain, Atalanta have previously spoken to the player regarding a loan. The Saudi Pro League is still keeping an eye on the situation.
Greenwood has hardly any senior international experience to speak of for a man who made 135 first-team club games at the age of 20 before having his career put on stop.
He earned his England debut in a UEFA Nations League match against Iceland in September 2020, but two days later, he and Phil Foden broke Covid-19 quarantine rules in the team hotel before continuing to Denmark, which resulted in their expulsion from the country in disgrace.
According to The Daily Mail, England manager Gareth Southgate was ready to move past the Iceland incident when he visited with Greenwood, the player’s family, and representatives from Manchester United in the fall of 2021. Southgate is known for giving young players a second chance as long as they have “good intentions.” At the meeting, Greenwood was reportedly given a strategy on how to reintegrate into the England group as a player rather than a starter.
Greenwood eventually wasn’t chosen at that time, and it’s been suggested that his camp was unhappy with the publicity he received for being called up but maybe not participating. Greenwood had previously been named to a provisional team for Euro 2020 but withdrew owing to an ailment that was not made clear.
According to reports, Southgate was still trying to reintegrate Greenwood as 2022 got underway, with an eye toward the World Cup in the end, but the arrest and ensuing charges put a halt to efforts.
As of right now, Greenwood hasn’t participated in a professional match since January 22, 2022, and he hasn’t trained in a professional club setting for the duration of Manchester United’s suspension.
The Mail continues by stating that Greenwood might not play for England at all even if he were to revive his career and with it, a future on the international stage. He had the option to represent Jamaica instead because of his ancestry. The Jamaica Football Federation has been interested since 2021, and Greenwood was even recently spotted sporting the team’s tracksuit.
Greenwood could change his allegiance in accordance with FIFA regulations governing international eligibility. The 2020 update to the rules means that players can now switch allegiance as long as they have played no more than three competitive senior international games before turning 21. Previously, players were locked in for a particular nation once they had appeared in a competitive senior international game. When Greenwood made his lone appearance for England, he was 18 years old.
