Can Mason Greenwood leave Man Utd in permanent January transfer? Conditions of Getafe loan explained amid Barcelona & Real Madrid interest

Getafe were the only club willing to take a chance on Greenwood after United finally decided against allowing him to continue his career at Old Trafford following a public outcry when it emerged they were planning to reintegrate him.

Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour, all of which he denied. He had been due to face a trial but all charges were dropped in February 2023, meaning there was no legal reason he could not resume his career.

Getafe fans were delighted when they signed Greenwood on transfer deadline day and there was huge excitement when he was officially unveiled by the club. Within days, he had already broken the club record for the most shirts sold with his name on the back.

Greenwood had not trained or played competitively for over 20 months and needed a bedding-in process but with time he has recovered the form he showed as a teenager with United. He scored his first La Liga goal against Celta Vigo and in November struck the best goal of his career against Almeria.

He also scored a penalty in an emphatic 3-0 win at Sevilla and starred as Getafe came from behind to draw 3-3 at Atletico Madrid, drawing huge praise from Antoine Griezmann.

Getafe president Angel Torres has said the club would love to make their loan deal for Greenwood permanent but some far bigger sides have also shown an interest in the forward.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have asked to be kept in the loop about the striker while there is also likely to be interest in Greenwood from Serie A. Juventus' name has been mentioned as has that of Roma and Lazio.

United agreed a season-long loan agreement with Getafe and GOAL understands that the contract does not contain a break clause, meaning it is unlikely he will make a permanent move in January.

The move is going well and United want to re-assess at the end of the season. Getafe, meanwhile, are said to be willing to smash their transfer record by paying €46m (£40m/$51m) to make Greenwood's loan move permanent.

Theoretically he could be sold in January but, in addition to a club being willing to meet his asking price, the move would have to be mutually agreed by United, Getafe and Greenwood. That is not expected to happen.

Greenwood is still under contract with United until June 2025 and, in theory, could resume his career with the Red Devils after his loan with Getafe expires. However, that is not expected to happen.

Even though all charges against Greenwood were dropped and United concluded from their internal investigation that he "not did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged", the backlash the club received after it emerged they tried to reintegrate him was so great that it would make little sense from a public relations point of view to go through that again.

There is little appetite for Greenwood to leave Getafe in January and the expectation is that no decision on his future will be made until the summer. He is highly unlikely to return to United and the most likely outcome is that he continues his career abroad.

Getafe secured a 20% sell-on clause on any future sale of Greenwood in their loan agreement, meaning they would stand to make a profit if he were to leave for a big fee.

Although Getafe would love to sign Greenwood permanently, they are one of the smallest clubs in La Liga and may struggle to afford United's asking price, which could be up to £80m. Given the sell-on clause, it would be in their financial interest for United to sell him to a larger, richer club in the summer, having had a full season under his belt and demonstrated that he is still a top-quality player.