Former Manchester United forward Antony wasn’t short of options this summer. The Brazilian forward dropped down the pecking order under Ruben Amorim and initially joined Real Betis on loan in January this year.
Antony was a hit at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, scoring nine goals and setting up five more from 26 games across competitions. The 25-year-old helped the Liga club reach the UEFA Conference League final, where they were defeated 4-1 by Chelsea.
Antony was surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, and the Red Devils always intended to move him on this summer. The Brazilian had failed to live up to expectations with United since the reported £81.3m move from Ajax in the summer of 2022.
After a lengthy pursuit, Betis ultimately signed the player on a permanent deal on transfer deadline day.
Bayern Munich among five clubs who wanted Antony this year
However, it now appears that Bayern Munich were among Antony’s suitors this summer. Speaking on Cope’s El Partidazo de Cope, the Brazilian revealed that he turned down the Bavarians as he had given his word to Betis.
“I spoke with Bayern, I don’t know if it was €7m, but I said I had Betis’s word and that it was 95% certain and that I would respect my word. I feel comfortable making this decision because I’m very happy here. More than five teams called me,” said Antony.
The Bavarians were in the market for attacking reinforcements to replace Kingsley Coman, who moved to Al-Nassr. According to Cope, the Bavarians even offered to double the salary Antony was earning at Real Betis.
However, the player already had his heart set on a move to the Estadio Benito Villamarin and the move didn’t materialize. The Bundesliga champions have since signed Luis Diaz from Liverpool for the job.
United have already signed Antony’s replacement
United, though, are unlikely to miss Antony, who registered just 12 goals from 96 games during his time at Old Trafford. The English giants focused most of their resources in attack in the summer’s transfer window.
The Red Devils signed Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and added Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig to lead the line. Ruben Amorim offloaded Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Jadon Sancho as well this summer.
Meanwhile, Bryan Mbeumo was brought in from Brentford in a reported £71m deal.
The Cameroonian has enjoyed a superb start to life at Old Trafford, and already appears an upgrade on Antony. Mbeumo has registered two goals from four games so far while looking like United’s best attacking threat.
Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.
