Man United may have to pay Antony millions to leave with ex-keeper Ben Foster warning the Brazilian won’t take a pay cut to exit Old Trafford
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Manchester United want to offload Antony in the summer transfer window
Manchester United want to offload Antony in the summer transfer window
(Image: Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images.)
Manchester United should be ready for Antony to ask for a multi-million pound payout if they want to get rid of the Brazilian according to former Old Trafford goalkeeper Ben Foster.
The Brazilian winger is currently on loan with Real Betis where he seems to be enjoying his football more than he did in England. Across 14 games for United this season, he only managed one goa but in Spain he has bagged four goals and as many assists in 11 games.
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Both parties' future plans with Antony intertwine. United are looking to offload the Brazilian, whereas Real Betis have been impressed enough with the 25-year-old's performances that they're keen on keeping him - however may only be on an extended loan agreement.
Although Antony is not part of Ruben Amorim's plans as things stand, United are still contributing to his wages. Former Red Foster believes that if the club want to get rid of Antony for good, it could cost them big time.
He said on the Fozcast podcast: "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.
"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 made a strong impression at Real Betis after impressing during his loan spell
"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."
Using Foster's theory, Antony could request a pay-out of up to £12m. United would not be keen to sanction such a deal but they know that they won't be able to recover anywhere near the £86m they spent bringing the Brazilian to Manchester from Ajax.
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