Antony will go down as one of the worst Manchester United transfers in recent memory after failing to justify his £85m price tag - and a recent report has claimed ex-manager Erik ten Hag never wanted him in the first place
Erik ten Hag and Antony
Erik ten Hag reportedly tried to block Manchester United from signing Antony in 2022
(Image: Matt West/REX/Shutterstock)
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reportedly tried to stop the club signing Antony for £85million in 2022 despite previously working with the Brazilian at old club Ajax. However, it's claimed the club ignored him because they were worried Arsenal would swoop.
Ten Hag bought two players with him from the Amsterdam club when he arrived three years ago, with Antony joining Lisandro Martinez, while fellow Dutchman Tyrell Malacia signing from Feyenoord. Last year he signed his old Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt.
But Antony in particular struggled to repay that huge transfer fee and was heavily criticised over his inconsistent performances. In his first two seasons in the Premier League, he managed five goals and three assists. This season, he failed to start a game in the top flight under Ten Hag before he was sacked in October.
Things didn't improve under his successor Ruben Amorim, who sent him on loan to Real Betis in January and he now looks set to leave the club in the near future after a hugely successful spell with the La Liga side - which just added to questions of whether it was the Brazilian or the culture at Old Trafford that was the issue.
Now it's claimed Ten Hag never wanted to bring Antony to United in the first place and attempted to pull the breaks on the transfer, despite previous suggestions he was key to the move happening.
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The claim also suggests United pushed through with the move after learning Arsenal were set to make an approach for the player - but Ten Hag still supported him and tried to help him during his time at the club.
Kees Vos, the co-founder of Ten Hag's agency, wrote in the book 'Liverpool and the Dutch': "Ten Hag and Vos were not in favour of this and wanted to stop the transfer.
"But the club wanted to push through at all costs, because Arsenal was also interested in Antony. The risk of a stronger competitor would be great. Ultimately, Manchester United paid almost €100million for Antony.
"Although Ten Hag did not support this transfer, it stuck with him throughout his entire time in Manchester that he took over the attacker from Ajax for this ill-fated amount, who was never able to fulfil his promise."
Antony
Antony has struggled for consistency at United since joining for £85m and was loaned out to Real Betis this season
Antony has been a much bigger success in La Liga, where he has scored nine goals and provided two assists and has become a much-loved member of the squad under new boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Betis are hoping to sign him permanently this summer and Antony has previously spoken about how he has a smile on his face again after struggling with his mental health at United. In an emotional interview last month, Antony broke down in tears as he revealed he went days without eating and locked himself in his room.
Speaking to TNT Sports Brazil, he said: "(Betis) changed a lot because i needed to find myself, because of everything I went through in my personal life. As I said, I wanted to do things, but they didn’t see 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 anymore. [My brother] told me to hold on a little longer, that things were going to change. It even made me emotional, because they were very hard days for me."
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