Antony: Manchester United's Â£81m man set for fresh start
2025-01-25
Category: sports

By its very nature, labelling something the best, or worst, of anything that has a history of almost 150 years is not an exact science.Most people have little knowledge of what that entity was a century and a half ago, still less be able to assess its merits against the modern day.Yet, in any debate about the worst transfer deal Manchester United have ever made, the chances are there will be few dissenting voices if Antony's name is pushed forward.In one sense this is incredibly harsh on the young Brazilian forward, who sat with three English journalists in Los Angeles last summer and told of his backstory.It was impossible not to be moved as Antony recounted the poverty he grew up in, the danger that cost the lives of many of his friends and why he has the word favela etched into his boots. By any measure, the 24-year-old's personal tale is a success story. Little wonder he had tears in his eyes as he explained why he had come too far and achieved too much to let those critical of his football get under his skin.But if you can separate the backstory from his impact as a Manchester United player, it is impossible to conclude he has been anything other than a failure. That in itself, is not a reason to condemn. Every club has made signings that prove to be a mistake. It is Antony's misfortune that there is an extra layer. His price tag.Antony is now on the brink of joining Spanish side Real Betis on loan until the end of the season with United sources saying the deal is covering a minimum of 84% of his wages, which are over Â£100,000 per week. He remains under contract at United until 2027.
Initial promise fizzles out
At a time when United co-chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has ordered a cost slashing exercise that has seen ticket prices rise, 250 people lose their jobs, staff perks axed, Sir Alex Ferguson's status as a paid ambassador revoked, legends have their remuneration cut and fans sent a letter warning the club is in danger of breaching profit and sustainability rules, you almost have to blink and look again when reminded of how much Antony cost.United were gushing with pride in August 2022 when they confirmed they had struck a deal with Ajax for the winger.The fee? Â£81.3m, second behind Paul Pogba as United's most expensive player. At the time, it was the fourth highest transfer fee paid by a Premier League club.In justifying it, United pumped out a lot of information.Antony was a priority signing for new manager Erik ten Hag, they explained. The pair had worked together at Ajax and the pursuit had lasted all summer. Ajax, it was claimed, had played hard ball, but Antony was as keen for the deal to go through as United were.He was high on the scouting radar before Ten Hag arrived, had a lot of technical ability and a winning mentality. United pushed and eventually got their man.He certainly had been on their radar before Ten Hag arrived. His predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was told about him. The Norwegian would have accepted him. But his advice was not to pay more than Â£30m.Still, when Antony became the first United player in 50 years to score in their first three league appearances, it looked like a good deal.No-one was to know at the time that initial burst would represent 25% of the league goals he would score.In 96 United appearances to date, Antony has scored 12 goals and claimed five assists.The last time he found the net was in a 7-0 EFL Cup victory over League One Barnsley on 17 September. The last time he helped someone to score was on 4 April 2024, when he crossed for Alejandro Garnacho to net United's third in what turned out to be a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Chelsea.Knowing Antony was regarded as his man, Ten Hag backed the player for a long time.Eighteen months after his arrival, at a point where he had not scored or created a goal for nine months and it was becoming obvious to most observers Antony may be well short of the standard United required, Ten Hag was still offering his support."He can do so much better," he said, in a press conference on 12 January 2024."His end product at Ajax was very high. He should return to those levels. He is capable of doing it."Ten Hag also made reference in that media briefing to a legal case that saw Antony dropped from the Brazil national squad after assault allegations were made against him. Police investigations in Brazil concluded in August 2024 with no charges being brought. Antony has always denied the claims.Ten Hag said the case had a negative impact on the winger, which given the gravity of what he was facing, is understandable.
Not good enough and a lack of starts under Amorim
Yet over and over, he continued to give the impression he was not good enough to operate at the level being asked of him.In the first recorded training session Ruben Amorim took charge of after he had replaced Ten Hag following the Dutchman's dismissal, Antony was shown playing at right wing-back. But when it came to Amorim's first game in charge at Ipswich on 24 November, Antony was an unused substitute.He has made nine appearances under the Portuguese. All but two have come from the substitutes bench. The most amount of time he has featured in a match under Amorim was 60 minutes. The win over Barnsley was the last time he played 90 minutes. He has not started in the Premier League since the catastrophic 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on 6 May which came perilously close to costing Ten Hag his job.Against Southampton on 16 January, after being introduced as a half-time substitute with United 1-0 down at home to a team that has won a single Premier League match all season, Antony was set up by Garnacho. Sliding in at the far post, he only had to connect properly and propel the ball forward to score. He couldn't manage it, instead turning the ball back to Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who picked it up and got on with the game. TV replays showed even if Ramsdale had not intervened, the effort would have gone wide of the far post.It was a horrible miss, sent round the world in seconds on social media. The really sad aspect is no-one who watches United regularly was that surprised.Antony needed a fresh start. It is to be hoped he can relaunch his career elsewhere.But he will never rid himself of the stigma of being one of the worst transfers in Manchester United history.