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Man Utd seal deal for mega-money star on favorable terms.
Manchester United are primed to offload Antony to Real Betis after agreements on both the club and player sides were struck, and the terms of the deal that United successfully improved have emerged.
Antony’s record at Man Utd since his £86m (add-ons included) arrival stands at a dismal 12 goals and five assists in 96 matches.
The Brazilian is wholly unsuited to Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, with the manager preferring No 10-style players – like Bruno Fernandes – in the slots behind the striker rather than traditional wingers like Antony and Marcus Rashford.
Antony has been trialled at wing-back, though not to any great effect. What’s more, the wing-back positions – and on the left side in particular – are top priorities in the transfer market for Amorim. More on that to come later in the piece…
The end result with Antony is he was granted permission to secure a move away and according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, he’s heading to Real Betis via the loan route.
Taking to X, Romano stated: “Antony to Real Betis, here we go! Verbal agreement in place between all parties with Man United too.
“Documents being checked; then time for travel and medical tests. United will let him leave on loan deal with 𝐧𝐨 buy clause. He’ll be formally back to United in June.”
Man Utd secure more favourable terms
The exact details in the salary split has not yet been revealed. Antony earns a whopping £200,000-a-week and United were desperate for a buying club to absorb as much of that salary as possible.
According to Spanish outlet Marca, Man Utd asked Real Betis to commit to taking on more of Antony’s salary than they originally intended.
It was claimed Real Betis hoped Man Utd would be on the hook for ‘more than half’ of Antony’s wages. However, after Man Utd played hardball, the Spanish side agreed to raise the amount they’ll cover.
And with Romano confirming a verbal agreement between the clubs has been sealed, Man Utd look to have got their way.
As mentioned by Romano, the loan does not contain an option or obligation to buy. Nonetheless, the expectation is Antony will leave Man Utd in a permanent deal in the summer.
Man Utd will hope Antony puts himself in the shop window while at Betis, much in the same way Jadon Sancho did at Borussia Dortmund and Mason Greenwood at Getafe.
Sancho joined Dortmund on a six-month loan one year ago. Greenwood joined Getafe – also on a dry loan – ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Both players impressed during their stints away and Man Utd were able to secure moves with permanent solutions attached in the players’ first window back at Old Trafford.
Greenwood was sold to Marseille for £26.6m, while Sancho joined Chelsea on a season-long loan that contains a conditional obligation to buy.
The obligation – worth between £20m-£25m – will be activated if Chelsea finish 14th or higher in the Premier League this season. The Blues currently sit sixth in the table.
If Antony thrives in Spain, he too will be expected to depart on a permanent basis upon returning to Man Utd in the summer.
In other news, Napoli are reportedly ready to bid as high as €60m/£50.7m for Alejandro Garnacho. United’s valuation of the Argentine is £60m and a £40m bid has already been turned down.
Man Utd aren’t actively pushing the player out, though they are open to selling for the right price. Corriere dello Sport claimed Napoli director, Giovanni Manna, will hold talks with Man Utd in an effort to finalise a club-to-club agreement in the next 24 hours.
Garnacho, meanwhile, is reportedly ‘close’ to agreeing personal terms with Napoli. The Serie A giant’s interest stems from needing a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who joined PSG for €70m.
Elsewhere, Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein have both confirmed Man Utd are in talks to sign Patrick Dorgu.
The Lecce star, 20, can play in a variety of positions, though would line up in the left wing-back role at Old Trafford.
Dorgu is viewed as a more economically viable target when compared to Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth) and Nuno Mendes (PSG).