Antony has struggled badly since joining Man United but is enjoying a new lease of life at Real Betis in Spain’s La Liga.
Antony has claimed Liverpool were close to signing him before he joined Manchester United in August 2022.
The Brazilian winger joined Real Betis on loan in January after a difficult spell at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim and his predecessor Erik ten Hag. Antony arrived in Manchester from Ajax for a substantial €100million (£85.5m) but only scored 12 goals for United.
However, since joining Betis, the 25-year-old has already found the back of the net three times in just six games, surpassing his single goal for United in the 2024/2025 season, despite being sent off in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Getafe.
Antony’s future could have turned out very differently when Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, with only one year left on his contract, faced an uncertain future going into the summer of 2022. Anfield chiefs were forced to explore their options, including the prospect of selling him for a significant fee.
That saw Antony targeted as a potential replacement before Salah opted to put pen to paper on a new deal. At the time, Antony had just finished his second full season with Dutch giants Ajax, winning his second Eredivisie title at the age of 22.
The forward has now claimed that a move to United’s fierce rivals Liverpool as a replacement for Salah was close, although he insists that making the switch to M16 instead was still a good choice.
“I was very close to signing for Liverpool, but you never know what would have happened,” he said during an interview with Arab news outlet Kooora. “In the end, I went to Manchester and had great moments there, and that was a good choice as well.”
2025-03-02 08:49:46
