Man United winger Antony has enjoyed a good start to life at Real Betis after switching to the La Liga squad in the January transfer window
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Manchester United winger Antony during his loan spell at Real Betis
Manchester United winger Antony during his loan spell at Real Betis
(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United's loanee Antony has missed out on this month's Brazil squad despite being named in the provisional team for World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina.
United head coach Ruben Amorim agreed to loan Antony to Real Betis in the January transfer window after it became clear that opportunities would be limited for him at Old Trafford. No option to buy was included in the agreement and there is an understanding that the forward will return to Manchester in the summer.
Keen to give a good account of himself at his new club, Antony has been in fine form for the Seville team scoring three goals and bagging two assists in seven appearances. Such form ensured he was back in the conversation to reunite with his national team this month and he was named in the provisional squad by manager Dorival Junior.
However, the United man has ultimately missed out on this occasion - as has Casemiro. Neither the Antony nor the defensive midfielder has been called up to the Brazil squad since 2023.
Antony's omission from the national team squad will come as a blow to United as they aim to seal a permanent transfer in the summer. An international call-up and chance to shine for his country may well have added some extra value, with United no-doubt looking to extract the best transfer fee they can for the winger.
The snub comes just a day after his agent Junior Pedroso unleashed a scathing attack on Amorim and United for how they have handled his client. Speaking to Marca, Pedroso said: "To attribute Antony's lack of success at Manchester United solely to the question of physicality is a very superficial argument and does not reflect reality.
Antony pictured representing Brazil in 2023
Antony pictured representing Brazil in 2023(Image: Getty Images)
"The truth is that Antony has not had enough prominence or the confidence necessary to play his best football. Of the 15 games in which Amorim managed Manchester United, he only used Antony in nine, with a total of 252 minutes played. This represents only 18.6% of the total possible minutes (1,350 minutes). How can you judge an athlete without a minimum sequence to prove his worth?
"The reality is that Antony, since he arrived at Real Betis, has become one of the best players in the team and in the competition itself, demonstrating his full potential when given the right conditions to develop his game. This highlights that the problem was not the physicality, but the context and the way he was managed in Manchester."
Manchester City's Ederson and Savinho have both made the squad while the standout return to the squad is Neymar after he recently moved back to boyhood club Santos.