Marseille president reveals he asked his own mother's advice on controversial Mason Greenwood transfer & hints French giants could cash in on ex-Man Utd forward

During his time with the Red Devils, Greenwood faced allegations of attempted rape and assault. Those charges were discontinued in February 2023, freeing him to resume his professional career.

A productive loan spell was enjoyed in Spain with Getafe during the 2023-24 campaign, allowing a £27 million ($37m) move to Marseille to be completed. Greenwood ended his debut season in France as a Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner alongside Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ousmane Dembele.

He has found the target on 42 occasions through 64 appearances, with Marseille finding value for money in the deal that they struck. They were, however, aware of the noise that a move for Greenwood would generate when entering into talks with Premier League giants United.

Longoria has told The Telegraph of speaking with his mother, Begona, before signing off on a swoop for Greenwood: “For me, it’s correct to speak openly about it. Creating taboos in life is never positive. For us it was a massive market opportunity from a sporting perspective where we analysed, very carefully, what really happened.

“In that case, having done due diligence and having all the information – and this is the first time I speak about this – with all the information I called my mother. And I said ‘what do you think, knowing all the situation?’ And my mother, who used to work in the prison system in Spain, having a very innovative prison system model in Spain – she was recognised with the medal of the state – so I ask her, having all this information, ‘what would you do in my position?’ And she said to me ‘do it’. With all the information.

“It was important because I wanted someone who doesn’t have the incentive of the sport, because the talent is there, that her only incentive is the good of her son. As a man, not as a president. And, for me, it was very important that she said to me, knowing all of this, ‘do it’.”

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He went on to say of the criticism that a high-profile transfer generated: “For me, at the moment when you have the full information, you deal with it with normality. Like I am doing with you right now. Because this is the most important thing – to have normality in life. Deal with that. 

“Yes, I know that there is criticism. I know that the situation, it’s so many times, potentially reputational [damage]. But, I repeat, if you think that you are taking the right decision, with the right level of information, and from a human perspective as well, because Mason, he’s a good kid, seriously. From that time, I sleep at night.”

On Greenwood having the right to move on in his life, Longoria said: “I’m not the kind of man who makes judgments without knowing everything and without taking into account all the different elements. It is also not about saying ‘what goes on outside football I don’t care about’. That is not correct.”

Longoria believes that Greenwood has become “one of the best players in the world”. The obvious question now is, can Marseille keep him? Longoria said when quizzed on that subject, with interest said to have been shown by leading sides from across Europe: “We are happy. He’s performing and the numbers, the talent is there. At the same time, it’s also if we are on the same page, it’s also a moment to analyse, as well the financial situation and ecosystem of French football, knowing all the difficulties.

“But I think if we are all aligned on Mason he can still have a future here. I think that it can be as well for him necessary because we are seeing that Mason this season is not the Mason of last season. I expect that he’s continuing to grow up and I would like to help him as well, you know, being better each day.”

Greenwood has reached 20 goals this season through 28 appearances. He is top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts again and is tied to a contract at Stade Velodrome through to 2029. Manchester United will be due 50 per cent of any fee that Marseille generate from a sale, although the size of that clause could be reduced ahead of the summer window in 2026.