MASON Greenwood fears he has blown any chance of making a fresh start in Saudi Arabia after describing the career of former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as “dead”.
Greenwood, 21, used the term while discussing the superstar’s form while he was playing at Real Madrid.
He later moved to Juventus and returned to Old Trafford in September 2021.
The comment emerged in March, three months after Ronaldo, 38, signed for Saudi team Al-Nassr in a two-year £350million deal.
When Ronaldo learned about it he was furious — and urged league bosses not to consider making a move for his former teammate.
A source said: “Ronaldo isn’t known for his thick skin.
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“He was really annoyed at what Greenwood said — but he has good reason to be when you consider what Ronaldo has achieved in his career and where Greenwood finds himself.
“Greenwood had his nose put out of joint when Ronaldo signed for United because he ended up playing a lot less than he had hoped for, so their relationship was difficult.”
Ronaldo was the first superstar to move to the Saudi league and he has a lot of influence.
The source added: “Ronaldo is treated as royalty in Saudi and what he says goes.
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“He would have enough influence there to kibosh clubs from signing Greenwood if he wanted to.”
The Sun understands Saudi league bosses are also wary of making a move for Greenwood given the country already suffers from bad PR.
A senior figure within the Saudi Premier League said it would be “very surprising” if attempts were made to sign Greenwood given the huge push for women’s football in the past year, which saw an 86 per cent rise in registered female players in the country.
A source said: “If Greenwood is too toxic for football in Saudi Arabia, you do wonder where on earth he could rebuild his career.”
The second season of the Saudi women’s league kicks off on October 11 with women playing without head coverings and male fans watching in the stands.
Clubs from Turkey and Italy have previously registered their interest in Greenwood but yesterday Serie A club Roma, managed by ex-United boss Jose Mourinho, distanced itself from the player.
Former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard, now manager at Saudi club Al-Ettifaq, also dismissed claims he was interested as “fake news”.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
