Manchester United have finally agreed a deal to sell Antony to Real Betis, with the winger set to return to the club he spend the second half of last season on loan at. Antony joined United from Ajax for an initial £81.3million back in 2022, but has struggled to make much of an impact.
The Brazilian managed just 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances across all competitions and United are now set to cut their losses. Antony has fallen out of favour under Ruben Amorim and was keen on a return to Betis after finding form during his loan spell.
Now, after the furore of the weekend, a £21.5m deal has been struck after an agreement was reached over Antony's salary.The deal also includes potential add-ons worth around £2.6m and a clause that will see United bank 50 per cent of any profit Betis make by selling Antony. The 25-year-old is set to take a major pay cut, with the winger having two years left on his £6m-a-year deal at Old Trafford.
The deal hit the skids over the weekend due to money owed to the player on the remaining two years of his deal - with both Betis and United not wanting to pay. United did not want to pay Antony any more money and the club have now got their way. They will make no further payment to the player' with Antony having to do his bit to seal his return to Betis.
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In an emotional interview about his struggles at Old Trafford back in May, Antony told TNT Sports Brazil: "[Coming to 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 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 Manchester 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,' Antony said, reduced to tears as he recounted the story.
"Only I know what it was like to be there at home, not having the strength to even play with my son, going days without eating, staying locked in my room. So, for me it was very complicated, but thank God, with the help of my family and mainly with the help of God, I managed to get ahead and today I am very happy here."
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