Antony was visibly moved to tears during his inaugural interview as a confirmed Real Betis player on Tuesday afternoon, reflecting on his "difficult" period at Manchester United. The 25-year-old winger, who had a loan stint at Betis during the second half of the last season, made no secret of his desire to make a permanent switch to the Seville outfit during the summer transfer window.
After weeks of uncertainty and solitary training sessions, Antony's persistence paid off as Betis and United reached an agreement, with the transfer being sealed on deadline day. Despite shelling out £86million for him from Ajax just three years prior, United will only recoup a guaranteed £19m plus £2.6m in potential bonuses for the Brazilian ace. The Reds have also negotiated a 50 per cent sell-on clause in the deal, ensuring they benefit from any future sale of Antony by Betis. During his tenure in Manchester, Antony netted 12 goals and provided five assists across 96 outings. He showed glimpses of class in his first season with United, contributing to their Carabao Cup triumph and a third-place league finish.
However, his form took a nosedive thereafter. Ultimately, Antony's move to Betis on loan in January proved fruitful, as he racked up nine goals and five assists in 26 appearances towards the end of last season.
Antony, was one of five Manchester United players, including Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who earlier this summer expressed a wish to seek new pastures, leading him to train alone. His challenging experiences at United culminated in an emotional revelation during his unveiling as a Betis player.
Antony shared his struggles with heartfelt candour: "Only my family knows how difficult it was to be there (in tears)."
He spoke of the isolation he felt training separately but remained hopeful for a brighter future, saying: "Training separately... but I knew this incredible moment was coming. Of course, I was afraid it wouldn't happen in the end, but I waited because I had so much faith.
"What a difference! Seville is more beautiful than Manchester. I'm finally here. I spent more than 40 days in a hotel; it was very hard, but everyone knew I wanted to return to Betis.
"Now with more time, we have so many things to do and achieve. I had trouble sleeping after seeing so much affection from the Betis fans; there were people waiting at my house at 2am."
As the transfer deadline loomed, Antony feared his move to Betis might collapse. However, with moments to spare, United confirmed his transfer, ending a period of intense anxiety for the player.
"Every day I was very anxious, on Sunday everything was ready to travel, but we had to wait," he recounted, capturing the tension of the final hours before his switch was finalised.
"I made it very clear that my first choice was Betis, it was Betis or Betis, there was no other option. I spoke to my mother and my sister in Brazil, they were crying, because what happened in Manchester was very difficult..
"Being separated, but that's part of life, I knew this incredible moment was going to come. These things are already in the past and now we are here, which for me is a dream."