Manchester United stars have been pictured in training on Tuesday as they prepare for Friday’s FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough in the wake of the Mason Greenwood’s arrest over allegations of rape and assault.
Greenwood, 20, was arrested on Sunday afternoon after horrific images and videos were posted on social media by a woman reporting assaults. The forward was questioned into the night on Sunday by police, who were granted further time to quiz the player on Monday.
The images appeared to show the woman bloodied and bruised and the audio included a voice recording of a conversation between a man and a woman, dated October last year, which purportedly chronicled the woman being attacked.
Greenwood, who earns £75,000-a-week and has also been capped by the senior England team, has been suspended by his club until further notice.
Within hours of the messages emerging and spreading across social media, United put out a statement saying it was aware of them and they were making inquiries ‘to establish the full circumstances’.
It added: ‘Manchester United does not condone violence of any kind.’
United then went further and said the player would ‘not return to training or play matches until further notice’.
Bruno Fernandes and his Manchester United team-mates were pictured in training on Tuesday
Paul Pogba looked sharp as he nears a return to action after months out injured for United
Raphael Varane is put through his paces as Manchester United prepare to host Middlesbrough
Winger Jadon Sancho is expected to be involved more after Mason Greenwood’s suspension
Greenwood’s team-mates were pictured in training on Tuesday as they continue to prepare for their FA Cup fourth-round clash with Middlesbrough – their first fixture since the Premier League’s winter break.
Ralf Rangnick’s side welcome the Championship club to Old Trafford on Friday night as they continue their pursuit of some silverware this season.
Talisman Bruno Fernandes was pictured being put through his paces in a series of drills on a chilly morning in the north west.
Paul Pogba also looked sharp as he closes in on his return to action for the Red Devils after a number of months on the sideline.
England winger Jadon Sancho was also pictured in action. He will be expected to play a bigger role now Greenwood has been suspended.
United resume their Premier League campaign against Burnley on February 8 and also have a Champions League last-16 tie with Atletico Madrid on the horizon.
A number of United players have unfollowed Greenwood on social media in recent days after the bombshell allegations.
United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick watches on his players work out at Carrington
Diogo Dalot is pictured in possession under pressure from Portugal team-mate Fernandes
Victor Lindelof became the latest on Tuesday as he joined other Red Devils’ stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, David de Gea and Marcus Rashford in distancing themselves from the striker.
Lindelof was following his young team-mate on Instagram along with the majority of the United squad. But in the 48 hours following shocking claims that he attacked an 18-year-old student, the club’s most famous names unfollowed the starlet.
Now, Lindelof has joined them, as well as Edinson Cavani, Fred and Jesse Lingard, in stepping away.
Events have moved rapidly since the social media posts prompted police action on Sunday.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester police said they had launched an investigation after being made ‘aware of online social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence’.
He added: ‘Following inquiries we can confirm a man in his 20s has since been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. He remains in custody for questioning. Inquiries are ongoing.’
Forensic officers also arrived at Greenwood’s £2million mansion in the upmarket village of Bowdon, Cheshire on Sunday night.
Greenwood, left, playing for Manchester United on January 22 in a 1-0 win against West Ham
The posts containing the allegations were online for just a few hours before being deleted.
The woman’s father told the Daily Mail his daughter believed her Instagram account had been hacked.
Speaking from his £1million home in an upmarket Cheshire village, the company director, 61, described the allegations as ‘dreadful’.
‘I’m just coming to terms with it,’ he said. ‘As a father you don’t want to know things like this are happening to your daughter. She is devastated. But she is safe. It is in the hands of the police now.’
Meanwhile, the woman’s older sister told the Sun she was shocked by the news and described the audio clip shared online as ‘disturbing’.
She added: ‘She’s a lovely young girl and no one deserves that. If there isn’t a full investigation by the police then there is something wrong.
‘I put my trust in them to do the right thing […] I just hope that my sister gets the justice that she deserves – that’s all that matters.’
Pictured: A police crime scene investigation van parked outside Greenwood’s house on Sunday
It comes after the world-famous sportswear brand, Nike, announced it was ‘deeply concerned’ and suspended its relationship with the young striker. Greenwood has also been removed from FIFA 22 in an update today.
After a database update for all platforms including Xbox, PlayStation and PC, the Manchester United striker no longer features in the popular computer game for offline modes.
Campaigners and women’s charities also welcomed the investigation into the ‘shocking’ allegations.
Greenwood was born in Bradford in October 2001. At four, he won a local newspaper’s modelling competition and was awarded a £50 voucher and a year with an agency.
Two years later, he joined Manchester United’s famed academy, hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous graduates such as David Beckham and Paul Scholes, having attracted attention by scoring ten goals on his debut for a local youth team.
In March 2019 he became the youngest footballer to play for United in the Champions League, aged 17.
Greenwood has made 129 appearances for the Old Trafford club, scoring 35 goals. He has the number 11 shirt previously worn by Ryan Giggs.