Manchester United had no choice but to sell Antony to Real Betis this summer with the Brazilian only wanting to join the Spanish side.
It took until deadline day for a deal to be sorted, but eventually, Manchester United sold Antony for £22m to Real Betis.
Antony thrived on loan at Betis in 2024/25, and the Brazilian winger was eager to continue his story with the La Liga outfit.
After completing his move, Antony admitted to ‘crying’ over his Betis move after being cast out at Carrington over the summer.
Ineos were working hard to find a solution for Antony and other clubs showed interest, but it was the player who made the move difficult by rejecting every other offer.
Antony speaks as a Real Betis player after joining from Manchester United.
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Antony rejected Bayern Munich move despite wage offer
In Antony’s first words as a Betis player, he made it clear that he only had his sights set on a move back to the Spanish club this summer.
Bayern Munich showed interest in Antony, while Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen were also linked. But even if United were willing to accept their deals, Antony was stubborn.
In an interview with El Partidazo, Antony revealed that he rejected Bayern’s offer over the summer.
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As quoted by Goal, Antony said: “I spoke with Bayern Munich. I don’t know if it was [a] €7 million [offer], but I said I had Betis’s word and that it was 95% certain and that I would respect my word.
“I feel comfortable making this decision because I’m very happy here. More than five teams called me.”
A €7 million offer would equate to a £117,000 per week contract, but Antony only wanted to make the move to Betis.
Ineos are improving player sales but Antony is a blow
United’s recruitment has been nothing short of terrible over the past decade, and one of the biggest issues is that the Red Devils have failed to bring in as much as their rivals have from sales.
This summer, United raised over £60m in sales thanks to the deals involving Antony and Alejandro Garnacho. But both were still sold well below United’s initial valuation.
United overpaid by £60m for Antony, and eventually he ended up being sold for the price United should have paid to Ajax.
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Even with a 50% sell-on clause attached to Antony’s sale, United had to cut their losses when it came to offloading Antony.
Moving forward, Ineos and Amorim will both hope to avoid having to implement a ‘bomb squad’, meaning sale figures should improve over time.