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Such has been Antony’s impact on loan at Real Betis from Manchester United, the Spanish club’s players are seemingly willing to go to any lengths to keep the Brazilian winger.
“Antonio of Triana,” started the sinister-sounding message on the Instagram page belonging to Betis captain Isco. “We’re going to kidnap you: this is your first warning.”
It was not long before the second followed as former Betis winger Joaquin got in on the joke by adding: “If I have to provide the car to kidnap him, I will. However it happens, he has to stay.”
It is no wonder Betis want to keep hold of the 25-year-old.
Since his loan move from Old Trafford at the end of January, the Brazil international has helped transform the club’s season.
They moved from ninth in La Liga to sixth and a spot in the Europa League, with Antony also instrumental in taking them to their first European final – when they face Chelsea in the Conference League on Wednesday in Wroclaw, Poland.
‘We’ve seen him cry, we’ve seen him laugh – Betis fans love that’
In 25 matches since he joined, Betis have won 13 and drawn eight, losing only four. Their 51 goals in that time is at a rate of better than two a game and Antony has directly contributed to 14 of them, with nine goals and five assists, including scoring in both legs of the dramatic semi-final victory over Fiorentina.
Betis won 4-3 on aggregate after extra time as Antony, who had grabbed the winner in a 2-1 first-leg home win, netted a wonderful free-kick in Florence and then created the decisive goal for Abde Ezzalzouli to leave Betis on the brink of club history and a first European trophy.
“Antony is already a hero in Betis,” said Spanish football expert and greatin sports columnist Guillem Balague. “They love a player that’s a bit different, or one that has struggled and finds happiness in Seville.
“Seville is a place for bull fighters. They like the bull fighter that goes off script and does things his own way – and Antony is that kind of player so they absolutely love him. He has been effective and taken the team to another level.
“Betis have given the man love and confidence, played him in the right position and played him all the time. He has been absolutely brilliant and he has been emotional.
“We saw a very cold guy at United, since he has gone to Betis and things have been working, we’ve seen him cry, we’ve see him laugh and Betis fans love that.”
‘I couldn’t take it any more’ – Antony on Man Utd struggles
Antony was one of the first signings made by Erik ten Hag when he became the United manager in 2022, after the pair had won successive Dutch Eredivisie titles together at Ajax.
The fee of £81.3m (95m euros, rising to a potential 100m euros), meant Antony became the second most expensive player in United history – behind Paul Pogba.
It began well. Antony played 44 games in 2022-23, scoring eight goals with three assists, and started in United’s Carabao Cup final win over Newcastle.
In the following campaign 17 of his 38 appearances come as a substitute, and he was an unused sub in the FA Cup final win over Manchester City. That downturn continued in 2024-25, with him not starting a Premier League match before his move to Spain.
“I couldn’t take it any more,” said Antony earlier this week in an emotional interview with TNT Sports Brazil.
“I wasn’t happy, I didn’t feel that desire to play football, and I needed to find myself and be happy again. Playing football was always something I loved – I went through difficult times when I no longer felt that pleasure.”
Then United manager Ten Hag said in January last year that Antony’s form had been impacted by off-field issues.
The Brazilian was the subject of a police investigation after allegations of domestic abuse were made against him by three women. He denied the allegations, spoke to Greater Manchester Police voluntarily and was not arrested or charged in either Brazil or the UK.
Antony said his unhappiness affected his family life, describing the period as “very hard days for me”.
He added: “I was at home, not having the strength to even play with my son, going days without eating, staying locked in my room.
“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.”
However, Balague does not expect Betis to be able to keep Antony because of the transfer fee United would demand.
“Manchester United won’t sell for less than 50m euros and Betis will be in Europe, but I think Antony belongs at Champions League level,” Balague told greatin sports.
“They are going into the final with the idea of having nothing to lose. They’re in their first final, have a lot of quality, compete really well, battle for everything, follow the ideas of [coach Manuel] Pellegrini and their best players are reaching their best level.
“They are a formidable team, but Chelsea are favourites. Betis should enjoy the last minutes with Antony because he probably won’t stay.”
‘Antony doesn’t fit Amorim’s system’
Antony’s loan move has worked in one sense, he has impressed and now clubs will be much more likely to be keen on signing him – Real Betis would clearly like to have him back.
However, his wages remain high for a club like Betis, so whether he goes back there depends on a deal being done – either with the Brazilian over a wage reduction, or United to offer some kind of subsidy.
The real problem is the price tag if it comes to a permanent sale.
It is fairly obvious the club has no chance of getting the £81.3m they paid for him back. He still has two years left on his initial five-year contract, so for amortisation purposes, United still need to sell him for £32.52m – otherwise they make a loss.
Quite aside from his poor form since joining from Ajax, as a wide player, Antony doesn’t fit Ruben Amorim’s system. We know there are going to be huge changes at Old Trafford this season, it is impossible to think Antony will still be at the club after the transfer window closes on 1 September.
As with many United players this summer, the key is how quickly a deal can be done – and how much it will cost.
