Mason Greenwood to return to Football Manager after Getafe loan

Sports Interactive have confirmed Mason Greenwood is set to return in Football Manager 2024 after Manchester United concluded their investigation into the striker.

Greenwood was removed from Football Manager in February 2022 after he was arrested but charges of rape and sexual assault against the striker were dropped earlier this year, after which United opened their own investigation into the allegations.

United concluded their proceedings during the summer, claiming Greenwood was innocent of all charges but accepting the striker would need to leave Old Trafford to restart his football career.

Talks over a loan to Italian outfit Atalanta were held but Greenwood ultimately ended up joining La Liga side Getafe on a 12-month deal.

Now back in football and with no internal or external investigations into his conduct, Greenwood is set to return to Football Manager when the next instalment of the game is released later this year.

Sports Interactive told The Athletic: "Players or officials serving indefinite suspensions from football, for any reason, are removed from Football Manager at the first opportunity.

"When suspensions or playing restrictions are lifted, the player or official will be reinstated in-game at the next scheduled update."

Getafe have faced criticism for their decision to sign Greenwood but the club's director has insisted that, since he was not found guilty in court, the 21-year-old is just another average player.

"We did what we do: sign players that are available to sign," director Ruben Reyes said earlier this month. "There is no need for us to handle anything [off the pitch]. We have signed a footballer who is just the same as Diego Rico and Oscar Rodriguez, and that's it. We have to do our job, and that's what we focus on."

He continued: "It is a year's loan: it's very difficult to get an option to buy on a player [like him]. He will be here all season. There are internal discussions [between the clubs] but those are small details that we try not to share. They appreciated the effort, how convinced we were.

"We're very excited with him. He was a player that we knew was out there. We worked on it, gathered information and bit by bit we saw that there could be a possibility. We spoke to his family, to his dad, to his people for a long time. We were able to convince him to come here, to trust in us. We're satisfied. He plays very free, as if he was on a school playground. He has a very high level. We dreamed that we could bring him here, and sometimes that gets fulfilled."