Antony is enjoying life at Real Betis after joining them on loan from Man United in January.
Antony celebrates after a Real Betis goal.
Antony is enjoying life at Real Betis.(Image: Angel Martinez/Getty Images.)
Manchester United winger Antony has said the city of Seville and the sunshine have been two key factors behind his good form on loan at Real Betis.
After falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford in the first half of this season, Antony departed in the January transfer window, joining Betis on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
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The Brazilian has enjoyed an excellent start to life at the La Liga club, scoring four goals and registering four assists in 11 appearances across all competitions.
The deal that took him to Betis does not feature the option for the Spanish outfit to automatically turn his temporary stay into a permanent one, but they have already declared their interest in keeping him beyond the end of this season.
And the winger has said that his upturn in form has stemmed from enjoying life in the city of Seville and the weather.
He told a Spanish TV station: "The sun here helps a lot, and the city is better here. I'm very happy here."
Last month, United head coach Ruben Amorim offered his opinion on why he felt Antony had been able to express himself a lot more in La Liga than he had in the Premier League, pointing to the difference in the physicality levels of the two leagues.
"When you play against any team in England, the physicality is there," Amorim told TNT Sports. "If you don't have physicality, you will struggle a lot.
"Antony is so much better now in Spain. It's [because of] a lot of factors, but I guarantee you it's physicality."
Ruben Amorim and Antony stand on the Old Trafford touchline.
Antony's agent, Junior Pedroso, later hit back at Amorim, saying he "completely disagreed" with his assessment of the United winger.
"We respect the opinion of coach Ruben Amorim, but we completely disagree with his analysis," said Pedroso.
"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."