Manchester United loanee Antony has revealed that he has “found himself again,” and this is why he is performing extremely well at Real Betis.
Antony, who joined Betis during the transfer window on a five-month loan deal, scored for the third game in a row during Sunday’s 3-0 La Liga victory over nine-man Real Sociedad.
The Brazilian broke the deadlock moments after the break with a stunning finish. In just four games for Betis, he has notched three goals and an assist.
After an extremely difficult two-and-a-half-year spell at Old Trafford following his big-money move from Ajax in 2022, Antony is finally starting to show signs of the player United forked out £86million for.
The 24-year-old spoke to AS [via talkSPORT] and opened up on his dramatic change in fortunes.
“The most important thing is that I have found myself again. I am happy to be enjoying myself every day. Things go well when we are happy, content.”
“I was playing little, but I have been working a lot. I needed to be happy with myself. The best version of being happy with myself is the most important thing.”
“I played very little in Manchester, but I am grateful to them and also to the coach, who spoke to me. I have also done very well in Manchester; I won two titles, and I am very grateful. But when I say that here, I have found myself, happiness, the people are like us in Brazil. The sun helps a lot.”
“I am very happy here. Every day I wake up with a smile and that is very important.”
He added, “In four games I scored three goals and gave an assist. I expected it and I didn’t expect it. I have worked mentally and physically to get to this moment. I am very happy about that.”
“When I was in England I continued working mentally and physically. I was also feeling well. I was preparing for this moment. Now, I am very happy to be enjoying and living an incredible moment.”
On what motivated his decision to join Betis, Antony answered, “I have a lot of friends who played here and they left me feeling very calm so that I could sign here. I was sure in my heart that coming here was the best decision for me. I hope to continue like this. The players who have been here, like Ricardo Oliveira and Denilson, who sent me messages and told me how good the fans were.”
Antony also pinned his smooth transition in Seville to club boss Manuel Pellegrini.
“The manager told me that I had scored against them and that now I had to score for them.”
“The confidence he has given me is incredible and I am very grateful to him . I am very happy for the confidence they have given me, also the players like Isco or the captain [Marc] Bartra, who wrote to me before coming.”
Antony’s exploits at Betis have earned him a nomination for La Liga’s Player of the Month award, alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Pedri, Ante Budimir and Oihan Sancet.
Featured image Fran Santiago via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
