The Greenwood Triangle: The Heated Negotiation of Roma, Fenerbahçe and Marseille

 The Italian authority announced that Roma has identified Mason Greenwood as the first choice forward for the 2026-27 season by Gian Piero Gasperini, and that formal contacts with Marseille will begin in the coming days. But the story does not end here: Fenerbahçe presidential candidate Hakan Safi has already started verbal talks with Greenwood, and the yellow-and-navy club has offered the player's representatives 50 million Euros. Tottenham Hotspur is in the race — Roberto De Zerbi wants Greenwood. So the triangle: Roma is preparing a 40M€ offer, Fenerbahçe offered 50M€, Tottenham entered the race. Marseille never agrees to less than 50M€.

Marseille's stance is shaped by financial pressure. The French club must comply with DNCG's (France Football Federation National Management Control) financial regulations; it is expected to provide budget balance by June 30. For this reason, Greenwood's sale is inevitable. When Olympique Marseille president Pablo Longoria transferred the player from Manchester United for 26 million Euros in the summer of 2024, he added a "future sale clause" to the contract — meaning 40% of the profit share from Greenwood's new transfer will go to Manchester United. This also reduces the net amount the club can get from the sale and makes Marseille tougher in the negotiation.

Greenwood's 2025-26 season was extraordinary in Ligue 1. With 26 goals and 11 assists in 45 matches, he became the third-highest scorer of the league (he came behind Marcus Thuram this year for the Golden Boot he had shared with PSG's Ousmane Dembele in previous years). At the beginning of the season, PSG's 5-0 win in Le Classique resulted in Roberto De Zerbi's departure from the coaching role; Habib Bèye took over the season and left Marseille outside the European line in Ligue 1. This also reinforced Greenwood's desire to move to a Champions League club. The 24-year-old Englishman wants to take a step higher after the season at the peak of his career.

The story from the Fenerbahçe side is very interesting. As Hakan Safi's transfer portfolio expanded before the presidential election on June 6-7, direct negotiations also started for Greenwood after principle agreements with Lewandowski, Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and Merih Demiral. According to TuttoMercatoWeb's news, even a face-to-face meeting after a video conference with Greenwood is on the agenda. The yellow-and-navy club has offered the player one of the highest salary packages in the Turkish Super League — an annual net range of 7-9 million Euros is being discussed. It has been reported by Sportingpedia that Greenwood "gave the green light." However, it is claimed that Marseille may prefer Roma; relations between the two clubs have become closer in recent years (the Robinio Vaz transfer is an example).

The instability in Greenwood's career is the biggest shadow over this transfer. The player who came up in Manchester United continued his football career after his arrest in January 2022 and all charges being dropped in February 2023. After spending a loan period at Getafe, he was transferred to Marseille for 26 million Euros in the summer of 2024. The two years in France were his recovery period; he became one of Ligue 1's best players. However, in England, these transfers, especially the Tottenham move, are met with serious reaction — public memory of what happened in Manchester is fresh. For this reason, the Tottenham race may cause great noise on social media.

The next few days will be decisive. If Hakan Safi wins after the Fenerbahçe presidential election, the completion of the transfer is very likely — if he does not win, Greenwood may be out of the equation. It is not certain whether Greenwood is among Aziz Yıldırım's transfer priorities. Whether Roma will be willing to increase 40M€ to 50M€ is also a question mark; Gasperini specifically wants him but management's financial limits are clear. Tottenham is in the picture with De Zerbi's pressure, but the reaction in English media may be decisive. Manchester United will also receive an amount between 10-24 million pounds — this may slow down the entry of PL clubs into the race somewhat.

Source: Gianluca Di Marzio, TuttoMercatoWeb, Le10Sport, Goal.com, Sportingpedia, beIN Sports, TransferFeed, Fanatik, The Peoples Person.

Image: ekonomim.com