Antony has opened up about the emotional toll of his Manchester United struggles, revealing he “couldn’t take it any more” before rediscovering his love for football on loan at Real Betis.
Antony moved to Spain in January after a difficult spell at Old Trafford, where he failed to justify his £86 million price tag following his 2022 move from Ajax.
However, his agent recently made headlines, criticising Amorim for not allowing him to flourish.
In 96 appearances for Utd, Antony managed just 12 goals and five assists. But since joining Betis, the 25-year-old has scored nine goals and is set to start in the Europa Conference League final against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
Speaking to TNT Sports Brazil ahead of the game, Antony became emotional as he reflected on his time in Manchester.
“[Coming to Betis] changed a lot because I needed to find myself, because of everything I went through in my personal life,” he said.
“As I said, I wanted to do things, but they didn’t seem to work out because I wasn’t happy, I didn’t feel that desire to play football, and I needed to find myself and be happy again because playing football was always something I loved.
“I went through difficult times [at United] when I no longer felt that pleasure. I even always told my brother, I told him that I couldn’t take it any more.”
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Antony’s form in Spain has been praised by Real Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini, who defended the winger’s time in England and backed his talent.
“He has not surprised me because I knew him before from England,” Pellegrini said.
“Also, when you buy a player for that amount of money, it is not always because you made a mistake.
“Maybe there are some reasons why Antony could not play the way he knows at Manchester United, but that is another thing.
“When he arrived here, he looked assured in the way we play and confident in his game, so I thought he would be an important player.”
Wednesday’s final in Wroclaw will be Betis’ first-ever European final. They face a Chelsea side who dominated the Conference League from the outset, but they’ll enjoy a healthy rest advantage. Also, Spanish clubs have a formidable record in UEFA competition.
Since the 2001/02 season, Spanish teams have won every major European final they’ve reached – 23 in total – including all four all-Spanish deciders. The last time a La Liga side lost a European final to a non-Spanish club was in 2001, when Valencia were beaten by Bayern Munich.