Manchester United are doing all they can to shift their dead wood this summer and Antony has reportedly made a decision that’ll make offloading him easier.
The Brazilian failed to live up to his whopping £85m price tag at Old Trafford, but enjoyed a successful loan spell with Real Betis last term, notching nine goals and five assists in 26 appearances.
Antony is now generating interest, which is good news for Man Utd, whose preference is to sell him permanently. A return to Betis is ideal for the 25-year-old.
According to The Manchester Evening News, Antony is willing to take a significant pay cut to leave Man Utd this summer. He currently earns £150,000 per week but is willing to drop to around £100,000 per week – a 30% reduction.
This could allow Betis to put another deal in place, potentially for a loan with an obligation to buy.
Antony is contracted until 2027 at Man Utd, but everything points to a departure, especially after Ruben Amorim left him out of his squad for the pre-season tour of the United States, along with three other players.
The winger is open to returning to LaLiga side Betis, but there is also interest from elsewhere thanks to his much-improved form…
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Man Utd set new Antony price tag
Man Utd are well aware that they won’t be able to get back the £85m they spent to sign Antony, but every little helps as Amorim looks to attack the transfer market.
MEN’s report adds that £32.5m would be enough to sign Antony this summer and whether Betis pursue a permanent deal remains to be seen – but it’s certainly not ideal for them.
Betis president Angel Haro confirmed the La Liga outfit wanted to retain Antony and extend his loan by a further year, confirming talks would take place to see if a deal could be thrashed out.
“Keeping Antony as our own is very, very complicated. We’ll have a meeting with Manchester United to extend the loan for another year, to be able to share a percentage of the player,” Haro said in an interview.
“It’s about seeing the willingness of the player and Manchester United. The first filter is set by Manchester, and then the negotiation of the player would come, but that’s a long way off.
“Besides, the player is now fully engaged, wanting to win a title with Betis. When the time comes and the season ends, he’ll be able to do his part if this option opens up.”
Serie A side Como, led by Cesc Fabregas, have also shown interest in Antony. Fabrizio Romano confirmed they have ‘tried to sign him’ but no agreement has been reached yet.
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