Roberto De Zerbi has praised Mason Greenwood after the forward marked his Marseille debut with two goals in a 5-1 victory against Brest.
The 22-year-old, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Getafe, joined Marseille this summer on a permanent transfer from Manchester United in a deal worth up to €31.6million (£26.6m).
“He is a player of an extraordinary level,” De Zerbi said after the match, as cited by La Provence.
“I am happy that he scored, as that way he will be less of a target for controversy.”
The forward opened the scoring after three minutes as he collected an Amine Harit’s pass midway inside the Brest half and raced into the box past left-back Jordan Amavi before finding the bottom left corner.
Greenwood added his second and Marseille’s third just after the half-hour mark, converting from the penalty spot after Jonas Martin had been penalised for a foul on Harit, as Marseille went on to win 5-1 in their Ligue 1 opener.
Greenwood scored twice in a 5-1 win at Brest in his Marseille debut (FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
The former United forward signed a five-year contract with the French club that runs until 2029.
The 22-year-old was made available for transfer after United confirmed in August last year that they had abandoned their plan to bring the forward back into the first-team squad.
Greenwood had not represented United since he was arrested in January 2022.
It had been decided that Greenwood would resume his career away from Old Trafford after the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service discontinued the case against him for attempted rape, assault, and coercive control saying that “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”. Greenwood denied all the allegations against him.
(Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images)
