Manchester United's academy striker Mason Greenwood is still far from returning to the pitch, having been sacked early by Nike, losing his huge sponsorship income and without any compensation. However, the 20-year-old Aoki king will continue to receive a basic salary of £80,000 a week for Manchester United.
This week, Nike officially announced that it has terminated its partnership with Greenwood because Aoki is suspected of 4 counts and is still on bail pending further investigation. According to Nike's sponsorship contract, once a player has a scandal, affects his reputation, and leads to a decrease in commercial value, they have the right to terminate the cooperation without paying compensation for early termination.
Greenwood's question had apparently discredited him, so Nike activated the terms of the contract. Greenwood was expected to renew his sponsorship contract next year and receive a higher sponsorship fee, but the accident cost him dearly, with potential losses of millions of pounds.
The Daily Mail said that since this year has only passed more than a month, Greenwood may even need to refund some of the annual sponsorship fees that have been paid in advance. But if Greenwood's winnings from his contract with Nike last year have not been paid, he is still entitled to that portion of the revenue.
But in the Greenwood scandal, the biggest loss was the club Manchester United, although the player was arrested and is now on bail, Manchester United still has to pay Aoki a weekly salary of 80,000 pounds, and Greenwood is not yet able to train or play for the Red Devils. In United's recent official publications of the match, the name of No. 11 Greenwood was directly removed from the list of players.
According to relevant British lawyers, the player's contract stipulates that Manchester United can only impose a 14-day suspension on Greenwood, after which they must continue to pay wages. Greenwood was officially arrested on January 31 and released on bail three days later, so he is still in the 14th suspension period and will certainly not be able to get a salary to train or participate in competitions.
Although, in theory, Greenwood can resume training after 14 days, for public relations reasons, Manchester United clubs will not rush to do so.
Joseph Rabin, head of Stuarts Law Firm in the UK, explains: "On the face of it, even though the police investigation is still ongoing, it appears that Greenwood is free to resume training in 14 days. However, in reality, I don't think this will happen and getting Greenwood back now would be a PR nightmare for Manchester United. United may announce that as long as the police investigation is ongoing and criminal charges may still be instituted, they have the right to continue to be suspended under the player's contract."
Whether United will release Greenwood depends on whether Greenwood is charged and the club will decide what to do next based on the outcome. "It's too early to judge, the investigation is ongoing, and the risk of firing Greenwood is too great at this point." Rabin added, "It may be illegal to terminate Greenwood now and once that happens, the club will have to continue to pay him for the remainder of his contract period." If United had to terminate the contract, it would have to pay compensation. In this case, Greenwood can sign with a foreign club, but he will have to wait until the case is resolved before he can officially join."
"If Greenwood is indicted and tried, but ultimately acquitted, the club can decide whether to negotiate termination in advance. If Greenwood is found guilty and jailed, United can legally terminate the contract without paying wages or compensation."