”The fact is that he hired him [Greenwood] as a player, and then continue to publicly back him and support him, sympathise with him. For me, that’s just unforgivable. I think that speaks to the character of De Zerbi.
”I don’t want him anywhere near my football club.
“This is about how we feel, this is about values, this is about integrity and, ultimately, it’s about safety. It’s about women feeling that they are safe around other men.”
”All I can see is that Mason seems a good lad, he paid in a strong way for what happened. He has probably here found the right environment for him, which gave him affection, and held out its hand to him.
“When I look at him as a person, I feel sad for what happened in his life, without getting into the details. Because the person I know here is very different to the one that has been described, especially in England.”
Despite criticism from some Marseille fans over signing Greenwood - which stemmed from the one-time England international previously being accused of attempted rape, assault and coercive and controlling behaviour, before all charges were dropped - De Zerbi has stuck by the 22-year-old. Before Greenwood signed, he said: “What I can say is that once a player signs with Marseille, all the players, he becomes like a son to me and I will protect him from anyone. If I have to pull their ears or put him against the wall I will — but in front of people, I will defend him like a son.”
The Athletic says that De Zerbi’s words ‘resonated’ with the former Getafe loanee, who later gave his approval for the transfer to Marseille.
—Goal.com