Ex-Sporting Director confirms 17 G/A Man Utd man almost signed for Barcelona before OT move

Prior to his Manchester United move in 2022, Antony was being strongly considered as a potential addition at Barcelona, according to ex-Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff.At the time, he had become one of the most sought-after wingers on the market and had even been linked to Liverpool before they also pursued alternative options instead.Unsurprisingly, United were the only ones willing to meet Ajax’s hefty demands of £86 million.How Antony’s Ajax exit came to fruition(Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)It came in the closing stages of a summer window that had seen them facilitate the departures of Ryan Gravenberch, Lisandro Martinez and Sebastian Haller, meaning they were adamant about getting their money’s worth if they were forced to do business again.Antony attempted to force the board’s hands into sanctioning his exit by refusing to train at the time United had made their proposal, while he also publicly expressed his desire to complete the switch to Old Trafford, where he was instantly reunited with his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag.Without dissecting exactly where it went wrong for the Brazilian at the club, it’s safe to say his tenure will go down as one of the most unsuccessful ones of the last decade.Not only did Antony fail to meet the standards and level required of him to succeed in the Premier League, but he couldn’t find any prolific form in Europe, either.When he completed a permanent transfer to Real Betis on deadline day in September, he pulled the curtains on his Red Devils tenure after recording only 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances across all competitions.Cruyff recalls Barcelona’s Antony interest(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Alas, Barcelona chiefs will be counting their lucky stars that their interest in the attacker never materialised, as they instead opted to sign Raphinha from Leeds United in a deal worth £55m.“I remember there was a moment we wanted a winger and we had to choose between Raphinha and Antony,” Cruyff revealed to the Stick to Football panel in today’s episode.“And when you have a fair play issue, of course, Antony in the end went for much more money than anybody expected.“But we really had to make choices based on, ‘Okay, if he succeeds in the Premier League and things go wrong, we’ll always get our money back.”He continued: “We looked at both [Antony and Raphinha], basically.“But Antony, we liked [him] because it’s a Spanish [thing]; I mean, now he’s in Betis and he is doing a really good job – like, he’s a special player.“But back then, we were thinking if we signed a player from Holland and things [went] wrong, you’ll never get your money back.”