Antony has shed some light on his drawn-out summer saga awaiting his move to Real Betis.
In fairness to Manchester United, the deal would’ve been completed as early as Antony liked had Betis met their demands from the get-go in the window.
After his loan spell came to an end in Seville last June, the out-of-favour winger returned to Manchester to form one fifth of Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’.
He joined Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia as the players angling for moves away from United, although the latter has since been restored to the first-team, having failed to secure his desired exit.
Antony to Real Betis: How the transfer came to fruition – and why it took as long as it did
In regard to Antony’s situation, he only had his heart set on a return to Betis, where he had enjoyed a complete career revival throughout the second half of 2024/2025.
He bid farewell to his Red Devils teammates in January without making a single Premier League start under Erik ten Hag or Amorim, and proceeded to instantly play an integral role under Manuel Pellegrini at the Villamarin Stadium.
The Brazilian started 15 out of 17 possible La Liga matches, returning five goals and two assists, as well as starting all nine of Betis’ UEFA Conference League fixtures, including the final, which saw them suffer a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Throughout the side’s European campaign, Antony notched an impressive four goals and three assists, making it no surprise that everyone involved at Betis was adamant about bringing him back this term.
Yet, the forward’s exit hit a roadblock in the closing stages of the window when he began demanding that his contract be paid out by United, who, of course, rebuffed such a request.
Betis then – bizarrely – released a statement claiming they had withdrawn their offer to the Reds, giving the clubs little time to try and negotiate past the impasse.
They eventually did, and United accepted a bid worth £19 million up front plus £2.5 million in add-ons – a significant loss on the £82 million they forked out for him when signing him from Ajax in 2022.
Antony opens up on ‘tough’ summer window waiting on Betis return
Nonetheless, the 25-year-old has picked up where he left off with Los Verdiblancos, recording two goal contributions in his first four appearances in 2025/2026.
Antony has reflected on what became a ‘tough’ summer saga for him now that the dust has settled, telling Desmarque (h/t Sport Witness): “They were very tough months in England, more than 40 days in the hotel, training separately. I feel like they disrespected me, but that’s not the point.”
“I don’t want to create controversy; that’s life. I’m very grateful for the club; there were bad times, but also good times, with two titles (the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup).”
