Ratcliffe plots £100m Man Utd fire sale including Greenwood and three team-mates
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning to offload Manchester United outcast Mason Greenwood as part of a £100million fire sale.
Greenwood, 22, is spending this season on loan at Spanish side Getafe after United made the decision for the English forward to continue his career away from Old Trafford. It came seven months after Greenwood had charges of attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The former England international has scored three goals and registered four assists while playing as a right winger, producing a string of eye-catching performances which have piqued Barcelona's interest. That could suit Ratcliffe, as the i report that United's incoming part-owner is set to sell multiple Red Devils academy graduates, including Greenwood, to further alleviate the club's financial concerns.
In the eyes of UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulators, selling a product of your own youth academy can be regarded as making 100 per cent profit. Greenwood is considered by some to be United's most talented graduate of the modern era, with fellow La Liga clubs Atletico Madrid and Valencia expected to rival Barcelona in the race to sign him.
But it's not just Greenwood who could be sold by Ratcliffe, who will make decisions with the help of his INEOS colleagues. Midfielder Scott McTominay is another product from the academy who's viewed as a saleable asset by Ratcliffe and also United manager Erik ten Hag.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dashThe Scotland international, 27, was a target for West Ham in the summer transfer window but ended up staying at Old Trafford. Unlike McTominay, Spanish left-back Alvaro Fernandez was sent out on loan to Granada for the first half of this season but has now been loaned to Portuguese giants Benfica in a deal which includes the option for a permanent transfer.
The same goes for team-mate Hannibal Mejbri, with the French-born Tunisia international spending the rest of the campaign on loan at Sevilla, who have the option to buy him this summer. As for non-academy graduates who INEOS could sell, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Jadon Sancho and Antony have all reportedly been listed.
Your turn! How much should Manchester United demand for Mason Greenwood? Join the debate in the comments section.
Greenwood's exit would be the most high-profile and should United receive a transfer fee, there will no doubt be questions regarding the morality of the Red Devils' business. Natalie Curtis, a survivor of domestic abuse who spoke to The Telegraph via Women's Aid last summer, believes that no club should be allowed to profit in the circumstances, despite the 22-year-old not being prosecuted.
"It seems wrong that anyone should profit from the Mason Greenwood situation that has been horrific for survivors," Curtis said. "If anything, if there is a transfer fee, it should be donated to a domestic abuse charity such as Women's Aid."