Mason Greenwood given backhanded compliment after matching Didier Drogba record
Marseille forward Mason Greenwood has equalled the mark set by Didier Drogba in his debut season in Ligue 1 after completing a transfer to Marseille from Manchester United last summer
Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi offered Mason Greenwood a backhanded compliment after the forward matched Didier Drogba's efforts at the French club. The forward scored three goals in his last two matches to hit 19 goals for the season, a figure equal to Drogba's mark in his debut season in Ligue 1.
Greenwood was sold to Marseille last year for a fee of £26.7m, after Manchester United decided the academy product had no future at the club. This came despite charges of attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm being dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February 2023.
The striker, who earned an England cap in 2020, hit the ground running in France and netted five times in his first three games. It has not been all plain-sailing however as Greenwood was dropped by De Zerbi earlier this year and saw reports of a bust-up with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
The Marseille star was even the target of ire from the club's fans. Supporters unfurled a banner that told him to 'get a move on' before he responded well to score twice against Montpellier. And amid his return to form, ex-Brighton boss De Zerbi was happy to offer praise to his charge.
But the 45-year-old also sent a reminder to Greenwood that his latest outing was an outlier. Speaking ahead of late-season training camp in Italy, he said: “Italy? Tuesday. We’re going to work, be together.
READ MORE: Man Utd and Aston Villa in talks over early Marcus Rashford recall after injuryREAD MORE: Rio Ferdinand insists Man Utd are STILL a bigger club than Liverpool 'by a landslide'"It’s not a punishment. The players are happy… have you ever seen Mason Greenwood work like today? It was the first time.
"You have to give the players credit. Sometimes you lose points because of bad attitudes, but not because they’re not good guys."
De Zerbi has been unafraid to provide some tough love for the striker and revealed last month he expected more of Greenwood. The coach did not believe his star was doing enough to meet his desires.
"I expect more from him," he said. "He has to do more, because what he is currently showing is not enough. If he wants to achieve his ambition of becoming a champion, he has to be more consistent, sacrifice more and be more determined."
But the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss has also offered Greenwood leeway in his development. "Last year he played for a club - Getafe - that was fighting for survival," said De Zerbi.
"He is an introverted person, a little closed, but he has a wonderful family around him, an extraordinary father with whom I worked a lot, he helped me a lot to manage him, with the help also of Mehdi Benatia.
"It is true that sometimes he gives us the impression that he can score three or four goals per game. And sometimes also that he wastes a little of his potential and his value.
So how can we help him? Well sometimes by cuddling him, by taking care of him and sometimes also by being harder so that he continues his progression."
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