Real Betis continue to push for Manchester United winger Antony and are prepared to be “imaginative” with their finances to get a deal over the line.
But the club are also wary of getting carried away with the player’s wages, which would have to be substantially less than the Red Devils are paying if he is to return to the La Liga side.
Antony was a revelation in Andalusia after making a loan move there during the winter transfer window, and Betis have made it abundantly clear that they would like to keep him around next season either on loan again or as a permanent fixture.
Unfortunately, the Brazilian is a walking reminder of United’s financial misjudgements, and the club are desperate to claw back as much of the £82m they paid Ajax for his services as possible.
Added to that are his gigantic wages, thought to be around £150k a week, and every aspect of a potential deal seems far beyond the means of Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
But club president Angel Haro has spoken with cautious optimism of having Antony in green and white next season, indicating to Estadio Deportivo [via Sport Witness] that he remains hopeful.
He said: “We’re talking to the player because coming to Betis entails a considerable reduction in salary, because we have to maintain our financial discipline and we don’t want to break it”.
Antony is thought to favour a return to the club where he rediscovered his form, and is reportedly prepared to take a pay cut to make it happen.
Haro continued: “He’s a fantastic player; he’s given us a lot in the last six months, but we have to get everything right; we can’t go crazy. We’re working on that path because it’s not easy.”
There has been much talk of a complicated part-ownership arrangement, in which United would sell the player to Betis but retain a percentage of his rights.
Doubtless with that in mind, Haro said: “We’re very imaginative when it comes to approaching this type of transaction, but it’s complex. It involves the player, who loves Betis, but he also has to consider his own interests.”
It’s certainly a balanced view held by the Betis bigwig, who emphasised that any return to the Villamarin Stadium depends “on Manchester United, Antony and on Betis being willing to pay the transfer fee.”
The size of that fee is unclear, although reports last month indicated that Italian side Como were plotting a €40m bid for the player – a valuation United would probably be minded to accept.
It’s clear that a return to Betis is the fairytale ending to Antony’s time at Old Trafford, but Haro is under no illusions that it will come true: “We’ll have to see if he comes; he’s no longer here. We’re working on that path; it won’t be easy. Manchester [United] paid a significant amount, and he has two years left on his contract.”
Featured image Fran Santiago via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
