He cost Man United $69 million and took Cristiano Ronaldo's No7 jersey - then things went wrong

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Mason Mount joined Manchester United as a rising star of English soccer. He was handed Cristiano Ronaldo's iconic jersey and was expected to be part of a bold rebuild of one of the biggest franchises in sport.

Then things went badly wrong.

“It has been difficult, but I have learned a lot from these moments,” said Mount ahead of United's Europa League final against Tottenham in Bilbao on Wednesday.

A slew of injuries of injuries has limited the midfielder to just 12 Premier League starts in two seasons since his $69 million move from Chelsea in 2023.

In that time he's had to watch on as United's onfield decline has continued at an alarming rate, with the 20-time English champion certain to end this season with its lowest points total and league position in the Premier League era.

The Europa League, however, presents an unlikely chance to salvage a historically bad campaign with a major trophy and entry into next season's Champions League.

For Mount, who has returned to fitness and form in recent weeks, it is the sort of opportunity he has craved after two years of pain and frustration at Old Trafford.

For United, it is simply a lifeline.

“As a group, we know the situation we are in. We know the league is not good enough and we have not been good enough in that, but the Europa League is something that we look forward to as a final,” Mount said. “We won’t forget about what we have done in the league and our league form.

"This is a final. If we can win it, it can be a positive end to a tough season.”

The final is reward for the long hours of rehab work the 26-year-old Mount has put in at United's Carrington training base to overcome a succession of setbacks including calf and hamstring injuries.

He has made only nine starts across all competitions this season, with three of those coming this month.

“It is not always easy. I have had many days at Carrington sitting on the treatment bed where I want to be training.” he said. “I have been in the stand watching games where I want to be playing.

“I give everything to continue my rehab to try to get back and be back as quickly as possible. That was always on my mind."

Mount's difficulties at United have been in stark contrast to his time at Chelsea, where he was treated as a hero after rising through its academy and providing the assist for Kai Havertz’s winning goal in the Champions League final of 2021.

He became a key part of England’s squad, which was runner up at the Euros that year, and started the final against Italy at Wembley.

It was a measure of how highly United regarded Mount that he was handed the No7 jersey worn by club greats Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Ronaldo.

But instead of going on to create his own memorable moments with the famous number on his back, Mount has watched as United's plummeting form cost former manager Erik ten Hag his job and left current coach Ruben Amorim to preside over the club’s worst campaign in Premier League history.

In recent weeks, however, Mount has shown flashes of the ability that convinced United to sign him — not least his two goals against Athletic Bilbao in the semifinals of the Europa League.

His second, a shot from just past the halfway line, was befitting of the number he wears.

“I want to score goals, I want to have them moments,” he said. “I just haven’t had a lot of opportunities to do that, so any time I’m on the pitch I want to show them what I can do. I want to create chances for my teammates and win games and win trophies.

“I always had the end goal in my mind that it would come good and something will happen and I’ll get a moment where I’ll score a few goals or something will happen.”

And where as United has struggled to fill the No7 jersey since Ronaldo first left Old Trafford in 2009, Mount remains convinced he can handle the pressure.

“It was a massive, massive honor (to be given it). Obviously I knew before joining what legends have worn the shirt and what it means to the club,” he said. “As soon as I knew that there was a possibility of me wearing it, I was never going to turn it down. I always wanted to take that opportunity. It’s not been easy up to this point, but I think I’m building.”

The Europa League final is the chance for United and Tottenham to put their woeful domestic campaigns behind them.

United is 16th in the 20-team standings — one place above Spurs.

But the winner of the final will gain entry to the lucrative Champions League alongside Europe’s top teams.

Mount knows the highs and the lows of playing in major finals and is determined to ensure he and his teammates don’t blow their big chance.

He went from the top of the world to rock bottom within the space of a few weeks in 2021 — winning the Champions League with Chelsea before losing the European Championship final with England on penalties.

Both experiences left lasting impressions.

“The losses are hard,” he said. “They stick with you for a long time. But when you do win, you realise that feeling and you always want that feeling when you are playing in finals."

And Mount also wants to give something back to the fans after such a chastening campaign in which United has lost 18 league games, its worst tally since the 1973-74 season.

“Winning the final might not solve everything, but it will give them something to cheer about and it’s a trophy,” he said. “Hopefully we can do that and be proud of it. The league form, we’re not happy with. It’s something we need to work on to do that for them.”

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Manchester United's Mason Mount celebrates after the Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match between Manchester United and Athletic Bilbao in Manchester, Britain, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Mason Mount (7) celebrates with Bruno Fernandes after scoring their first goal of the game during the Europa League semifinal second leg soccer match between Manchester United and Athletic Bilbao in Manchester, Britain, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

State Sen. Dan McKeon tearfully announced his resignation from the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday ahead of scheduled debate to expel him from the body after accusations that he made a sexually charged comment to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately during a session-end party last year.

McKeon, a Republican from rural south-central Nebraska who had served only a year before his resignation, announced his resignation and apologized on the legislative floor just minutes before debate that would certainly have included harsh condemnation of McKeon.

“My words and actions were careless, regardless of the intent,” McKeon said. “I accept my responsibility for the impact of my words and my actions.”

“This past year has humbled me. It requires reflection, listening and learning. Accountability is not only acknowledging my mistake but committing to grow from it. I take that responsibility seriously,” McKeon said, his voice cracking.

His demeanor was a departure from what many of his fellow lawmakers found to be a defiant and flippant attitude toward the accusations leading up to his resignation. McKeon's exit came a day after the 10-member Executive Board, the body's governing board, voted unanimously to forward a motion to expel McKeon to the full Legislature for a vote.

The unprecedented move followed a complaint from the staffer who works for another lawmaker that McKeon approached her and another aide during a May 29 party and engaged in small talk about everyone's vacation plans. The woman said McKeon told her she should “get laid” on her vacation and patted her on her buttocks. McKeon has countered that he “made a bad pun," telling the woman she and her spouse should “go to Hawaii and enjoy a Hawaiian lei,” according to McKeon's attorney.

McKeon also countered that he patted the staffer on the back and may have accidentally brushed her rear end, but insists that if he did, it was unintentional.

McKeon's departure comes as more attention has focused on sexual harassment within state legislatures nationwide — including in Nebraska. The accusations against McKeon came about 15 months after the body was thrown in chaos when another Republican state lawmaker, former Sen. Steve Halloran, read a graphic account of rape from a bestselling memoir on the floor of the Legislature in which he repeatedly invoked the name of a fellow lawmaker, making it appear as if that lawmaker was the subject of the assault.

An outside investigation found that Halloran had violated the body’s workforce sexual harassment policy, and the Legislature's governing Executive Board issued him a letter of reprimand. But that action was met with strong criticism from several lawmakers who said Halloran should have faced a censure vote by the full body. Halloran left office in January 2025 due to term limits.

This time around, the Executive Board took a harder stance after a several lawmakers and another outside investigation found that McKeon had a history of making inappropriate comments and jokes during his time in the Legislature. The investigator also found that McKeon ignored a directive by the Executive Board's chairman not to attend events where staffers would be, showing up that same day at another party attended by the woman who filed the complaint against him.

The investigator also found that a text McKeon sent to another staffer who shares an office with the woman, in which he said she “seems to be difficult to work with,” could constitute retaliation against her.

The report determined that McKeon’s conduct did not rise to a level of sexual harassment or retaliation actionable under state or federal discrimination law, but that it did violate the Nebraska Legislature’s workplace harassment policy.

McKeon becomes at least the 57th state lawmaker in the nation to leave office via expulsion or resignation since 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after a Nebraska State Patrol investigation into his interaction with the staffer last May. McKeon has pleaded not guilty to that charge and is set to appear in court on Jan. 26.

State sen. Daniel McKeon sits during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

State Sen. Daniel McKeon takes notes during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)