Mason Greenwood was released from his Nike contract without receiving any compensation from the American sportswear company according to reports.
The company had publicly confirmed earlier this week that the Manchester United forward "is no longer a Nike athlete" after they had initially suspended their contract with the 20-year-old after his arrest on suspicion of rape, assault, sexual assault and threats to kill.
According to the Mail, it is thought that a clause in Greenwood's contract with Nike allowed them to cut all ties without paying the England international a single penny in compensation due to reputational damage and loss of commercial value.
The decision to part ways comes just one year shy of when Greenwood was expected to pen a new mega-money contract with Nike that would have pocketed the player millions.
It is a different story when it comes to his United contract, as the Red Devils are contractually bound to continue paying Greenwood his £75,000-a-week.
With that being said, United have declared that he will not play for the club or train at Carrington until further notice after his arrest and release on bail.
"Greenwood's player contract says he can only be suspended for 14 days on full pay," said Joseph Lappin, head of employment at UK law firm Stewarts told Sportsmail.
"On the face of it therefore, Greenwood appears free to return to training after 14 days even if the police investigation is still ongoing.
"However, I don't expect that to happen. Letting Greenwood return now would be a PR nightmare for the club.
"Manchester United may say that for as long as any police investigation and criminal prosecution remains live they have the power under the player contract to continue the suspension or re-suspend."
From United's perspective, the club must wait to see if Greenwood is eventually charged before they can decide which step next to take.
According to Lappin, it would be too much of a risk for United to dismiss Greenwood while a criminal investigation is still ongoing.
"Greenwood would stand to be compensated by the club for the sums owing to him under the remaining term of his contract if his dismissal was found to be unlawful," he added.
"If Manchester United considers that the employment relationship has reached the end of the road, more likely is that the club proposes terminating the contract and paying Greenwood a settlement sum."
Were the Old Trafford hierarchy to opt for that method, depending on the outcome of the investigation Greenwood could sign a pre-contractual agreement with a club in another country.
