Football fans have been left “disgusted” at the decision to include Mason Greenwood in Manchester United’s official 2022/23 squad list.
Supporters have been flocking to social media in their thousands to share their views following Manchester United‘s official announcement of their 25-man squad list for the current 2022/23 Premier League campaign – which includes the suspended Mason Greenwood.
The 20-year-old striker is named in the club’s list of Under-21 players eligible to play.
Greenwood is currently suspended by the Red Devils and has been placed on leave with pay as the result of a police investigation.
It comes after Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed back in January that “a man in his 20s” had been arrested on suspicion of rape, assault, and a threat to kill after allegations were made a woman on social media.
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Greenwood remains on bail while the police investigation is ongoing.
ℹ️ Our 25-man squad list for the 2022/23 #PL campaign has been released.#MUFC
Once the news of the allegations broke on social media and GMP confirmed the arrest, Manchester United confirmed in a statement released at the time that Mason Greenwood would not return to training or play matches “until further notice”.
In the weeks following the arrest, Manchester United took the decision not to allow fans to purchase shirts with Greenwood and number 11 on the back from its official website, and have twice been forced to deny rumours that originated online that the player was set to return to First Team training.
Back in April, when questioned why Greenwood’s profile remains on the club’s website despite initially having been removed from their mobile app, a spokesperson for the club said “there has been no change whatsoever in Mason’s status”.
But United’s denial of Greenwood’s return seems to have only added to fans’ shock to see the player included in the 2022/23 squad list – even it isn’t for the senior team.
Outrage as Mason Greenwood is included in Manchester United’s official 2022/23 squad list / Credit: Manchester United
“Nope, you should not be registering Greenwood. Shame on you,” one person commented on Twitter.
Others have simply branded the decision “disgusting”.
Although opinion has been mixed, and many supporters and football commentators have pointed to contractual and legal obligations as potential reasoning as to why the player may have been included, Manchester United are yet to release a statement or comment on the squad list further.
Despite being named in the Under-21 2022/23 Premier League squad, Greenwood is, however, still not included in United’s Europa League squad for the current campaign.
Greenwood made his debut for the club in March 2019, and signed a four-year deal in February 2021 after rising through the ranks of the academy.
He last played for the club in a Premier League game against West Ham on 22 January.
Featured Image – Manchester United
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The shortlist for the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards has been revealed
Danny Jones
The shortlisted nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award (SPOTY) have been revealed, including one notable nearby name.
The question is, who do you fancy most for it this time around?
After Atherton’s very own Keely Hodgkinson claimed it last year, we were naturally hoping another Greater Manchester native would win it once again.
While we haven’t quite got what we wished for, you could say we’ve got the next best thing, as a fellow North West name has been nominated.
🗣️ REVEALED!
The 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year contenders are:
A short train ride away to Cheshire, and being a big Man United fan basically counts, if you ask us.
Yes, Warrington’s very own Luke Littler has been named on the shortlist for the 2025 Sports Personality of the Year, quite literally 12 months from his previous nomination.
Littler, who is still only 18, did go on to win the 2024 Young SPOTY last December – a very decent consolation prize following his blockbuster debut year or so – but he has been tipped as a bookies’ favourite this time around.
He’s also been voted for that award again this year, so you’d hope he’d be walking away with at least one of the trophies, though it’d be far from his only one of late.
Since then, the young sporting prodigy has gone on to win all but two of the 10 PDC majors, including two Premier League Darts titles.
In fact, if you want to look at how his arrival onto the senior professional darts circuit breaks down, you can take a gander at the frankly staggering stats behind his breakthrough down below.
As you can see, other nominees include former Manchester City Women’s star Chloe Kelly and Lioness, Hannah Hampton; rugby union and national team member, Ellie Kildunne, F1 favourite Lando Norris, as well as Irish golfer, Rory McIlroy (not for the first time).
We’ll confess we’re very much biased and backing local lad Littler – sue us.
The other Young SPOTY nominees for 2025 include another rising England star in Michelle Agyemang and Northern Superchargers cricket talent, Davina Perrin.
Being hosted over at MediaCityUK in Salford once again, voting will take place during the show on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer on Thursday, 18 December.
Manchester residents urged to have their say on want they want the Council to invest in next year
Emily Sergeant
Residents in Manchester are being urged to have their say on what they want to Council to invest in next year.
Manchester City Council has this week launched a consultation for its upcoming 2026/7 budget, and is asking the people of Manchester what their priorities are for investment in services in the new year.
For those who hadn’t heard, the Government is introducing fairer funding for Councils, which recognises that areas with more challenges need more money – Manchester being one of them – and although final details of the Council’s financial settlement will not be received until later this month, it does mean that it’s anticipated there’ll be more funding available than previously expected.
As well as protecting vital frontline services with the upcoming budget, the Council says it will also have some scope to invest in ‘making Manchester better’.
Whether this would be improving street cleaning services, supporting youth services and community groups, extending library opening hours, or a variety of other services, the Council says it’s aiming to build on the strong progress made in recent years.
While extra funding will make ‘a very real difference’, the Council says it still has a duty to plan carefully and ensure its impacts are maximised.
Ongoing value for money and service transformation measures will work to reduce and avoid costs, as it ‘makes sense’ to do this anyway – but crucially, every pound saved will be reinvested in services.
Manchester residents are being urged to have their say on want they want the Council to invest in next year / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
“How we allocate budgets for our services has long been guided by what Manchester people have told us about their priorities for themselves, their families and friends, their neighbourhoods and their city,” explained Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar, who is the Executive Member for Finance at Manchester City Council.
“As we begin to build back, restoring some of the things which had to be cut previously and looking to the future, we need to hear people’s views again.
“These will shape the final package of proposals for 2026/27.”
Council Leader Bev Craig added: “Crucially, the fact that we will get a three-year financial settlement from Government rather than year-by-year settlements as has previously been the case, means we can plan ahead with real confidence.”
Want to take part in the consultation? The consultation is now live and runs until 5pm on 28 January 2026. You can either find out more and complete it online here, or paper copies of the consultation are also available in libraries across the city.