Antony has revealed his frustration over his final days as a Manchester United player, claiming he felt "disrespected" by the club's handling of his situation. The winger was among the so-called 'bomb squad' during the summer before securing a permanent switch to Real Betis on transfer deadline day.
United spent the entire summer attempting to shift a quintet of players deemed surplus to requirements by Ruben Amorim. Antony found himself alongside Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia in the wilderness before his departure. After several false starts, Antony finally secured his desired move with a permanent €25million (£21.65m) transfer to Betis, where he had enjoyed a successful loan stint last season.
The Brazilian had been training in isolation from Amorim's first-team squad at United's Carrington training facility right up until the closing days of August. The group had been informed in crystal clear terms that they had no future under Amorim and needed to secure fresh clubs.
They were compelled to report to the training ground at 5pm, after the remaining players had departed, to train in solitude. The approach generated tension behind the scenes, with certain staff members considering it unnecessarily harsh.
Nevertheless, it achieved the intended outcome, with Antony, Rashford, Garnacho and Sancho all departing, leaving Malacia as the sole remaining member.
Antony is thrilled to have completed his permanent move to Seville, but continues to harbour resentment. "They were very tough months in England, more than 40 days in the hotel, training separately... I feel like they disrespected me, but that's not the point," he told Onda Cero.
"I don't want to create controversy, that's life. I'm very grateful for the club. There were bad times, but also good times, with two titles. My family travelled to Seville four or five days before the deal was finalised. I had the house rented."
Antony secured a £86m switch to United from Ajax in September 2022 following Erik ten Hag's recommendation, having previously worked under the Dutchman in Amsterdam.
However, the transfer failed to deliver, with the Brazilian winger managing just 12 goals and five assists across 96 outings in all competitions.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos viewed him as a symbol of the previous administration's wasteful spending and approved his exit this summer at a substantial financial loss.
Antony flourished during his loan spell with Betis last term and made an immediate impression in their opening Europa League fixture of the season last week, netting and providing an assist in the 2-2 stalemate with Nottingham Forest.
He is now setting his sights on earning a spot in Brazil's squad for the 2026 World Cup.
"It's a dream," he said. "I played in a World Cup, and of course I dream of playing in it a second time. It's always great to represent your country. I'm going to do my job, like I'm doing, and I hope to be in the squad."