Manchester United look set to get rid of Antony in the summer despite his upturn in form at Real Betis, but have been warned by an ex-player that it could cost them a lot
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Antony
Antony has failed to make an impact at Manchester United
(Image: Getty Images)
Manchester United have been warned they may need to take a big financial hit to get rid of £82million flop Antony. The Brazilian has failed to live up to his hefty price tag at Old Trafford since joining from Ajax in 2022, but has enjoyed a rapid upturn in form after signing for Real Betis on loan in January.
Antony has scored four goals and provided four assists in 11 appearances so far for the La Liga outfit. However, it's been reported that United are still eager to offload him during the summer as the look to rebuild under Ruben Amorim.
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Betis are said to be keen to keep hold of the 25-year-old winger albeit via an extended loan agreement. United have now been told they will have to cut their losses if they want to get rid of Antony permanently with two years left on his contract.
It follows claims by former Red Devils goalkeeper Ben Foster that prospective buyers will be reluctant to match his current wages, which are reported to be in the region of £200,000 per week. The ex-England and Wrexham shot-stopper also suggested that Antony would be reluctant to take a pay cut to move elsewhere.
Foster further speculated that it could take a payout of more than £10million to persuade the player to leave after criticising his poor performances for United.
"With Antony, the rumours are that he's on around £200,000 a week, and there's not many teams in world football that can sign him," he said on his Fozcast podcast. "Antony has two or three years left on his deal at Man United and isn't going to want to take a pay cut by signing for one of these teams on £100,000 a week.
Antony
Antony has scored four goals for Real Betis this season(Image: Getty Images)
"I don't care how much money you're on, if somebody says 'Your wages are going to get cut by 50 per cent next year' then it hurts. What will most probably happen is if somebody like Real Betis did sign him, Antony will say to Manchester United 'I will accept the transfer to Real Betis. However, I’ve still got two or three years left on my contract, which is worth £20m or £30m'.
"(He will then say) 'What you guys need to do is pay me 40 per cent of that'. It stings when you've invested so much money into a player…and he's produced absolutely zero for Manchester United. They've sent him out on loan, and then all of a sudden he starts performing."
Antony only featured in 135 minutes of Premier League football under both Erik ten Hag and Amorim this season before leaving for Betis. Amorim recently said he believes he struggled in the English top flight because of its "physicality".
Ruben Amorim, head coach of Manchester United, looks on with Antony
Ruben Amorim believes Antony struggled with the physicality of the Premier League
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports, he said: "When you play against any team in England, the physicality is there. 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."
Antony has admitted he is enjoying his time at Betis and has a "smile on his face again" having "found himself" under ex-Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
"I've had a great time in Manchester too, I won two titles and I'm very grateful,' he told AS. "But when I say that I've found myself here, I'm happy, the people are like us in Brazil. The sun helps a lot. I'm very happy here. I wake up every day with a smile and that's very important."
He added: "I have a lot of friends who played here and they left me very calm so that I could sign here. I was sure in my heart that coming here was the best decision for me. I hope to continue like this."
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