By nature, labeling something is the best or worst, of anything that has a history of almost 150 years, is not an exact science.
Most people have little knowledge of what that entity was a century and a half ago, much less able to judge its merits against modern times.
But in any debate about the worst transfer deal Manchester United have ever made, chances are there will be few dissenting voices when Antony’s name is pushed forward.
In some ways, this is incredibly harsh on the young Brazilian forward, who sat down with three English journalists in Los Angeles last summer and talked about his backstory.
It was impossible not to be moved as Antony talked about the poverty he grew up in, the danger that took the lives of many of his friends and why he has the word favela etched into his boots.
To what extent is the 24-year-old’s personal story a success story? No wonder he had tears in his eyes as he explained why he had come too far and achieved too much to let that criticism of his football get under his skin.
But if you can separate the backstory from his impact as a Manchester United player, it’s impossible to conclude that he has been anything other than a failure.
That in itself is no reason to condemn. Every club has made signings that turn out to be a mistake. It is Antony’s misfortune that there is an extra layer. Its price tag.
Antony is now set to join Spanish side Real Betis until the end of the season with United sources saying the deal will cover at least 84% of his wages, which are more than £100,000 per week.
He will remain under contract with United until 2027.
First promise fizzles
At a time when United co-chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe has ordered a cost crackdown that has seen ticket prices rise, 250 people losing their jobs, staff cuts, Sir Alex Ferguson’s status as a paid ambassador revoked. Fans sent a letter saying the club is in danger of breaching profits and sustainability rules, you almost have to blink and look again when you’re reminded how much Antony cost.
United gushed with pride in August 2022 when they confirmed they had completed a deal with Ajax for the winger.
The compensation? £81.3 million, second behind Paul Pogba as United’s most expensive player. At the time it was the fourth highest transfer fee paid by a Premier League club.
By justifying it, United pumped out a lot of information.
Antony was a priority signing for new manager Erik Ten Hag, they explained. The pair had worked together at Ajax and the chase had lasted all summer. Ajax, it was claimed, had played hardball but Antony was as keen for the deal to go through as United was.
He was high on the scouting radar before Ten Hag arrived, had great technical skills and a winning mentality. United pushed and eventually got their man.
He had certainly been on their radar before ten hag arrived. His predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was told about him. The Norwegian would have accepted him. But his advice was not to pay more than £30 million.
Still, when Antony became the first United player in 50 years to score in their first three league games, it seemed like a good deal.
No one would have known at the time that the first burst would represent 25% of the league goals he would score.
In 96 United appearances to date, Antony has scored 12 goals and registered five assists.
The last time he found it was on September 17 in a 7-0 EFL Cup win over League One Barnsley. The last time he helped someone score was on April 4, 2024, when he crossed for Alejandro Garnacho in Net United’s third in what turned out to be a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Chelsea.
Knowing that Antony was considered his man, Ten Hag supported the player for a long time.
Eighteen months after his arrival, at a point where he had not scored or created a goal for nine months and it became clear to most observers that Antony might be well outside the standard of the United States, Ten Hag was still supporting him.
“He can do so much better,” he said, in a press conference on January 12, 2024.
“His end product at Ajax was very high. He should return to those levels. He is capable of doing it.”
Tien Hag also referred in that media briefing to a legal case in which Antony was dropped from the Brazil national team after the assault allegations were made against him. Police investigations in Brazil ended in August 2024 with no charges brought. Antony has always denied the claims.
Tien Hag said the case had a negative impact on the winger, which is understandable given the seriousness of what he faced.
Not good enough and a lack of starts under Amorim
But time and time again he continued to give the impression that he was not good enough to operate at the level that was asked of him.
In the first recorded training session, Ruben Amorim took charge after replacing Tien Hag following the Dutchman’s dismissal, Antony was shown on the right wing. But when it came to Amorim’s first game in charge at Ipswich on November 24, Antony was an unused substitute.
He has made nine appearances under the Portuguese. All but two are from the replacement bench. The most time he has recorded in a match under Amorim was 60 minutes.
The win over Barnsley was the last time he played 90 minutes. He has not started in the Premier League since the catastrophic 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on May 6, which came dangerously close to costing his job.
Against Southampton on 16 January, having been introduced as a half-time substitute with United 1–0 at home to a team that has won one Premier League match all season, Antony was set up by Garnacho.
Sliding onto the far post, all he had to do was connect well and drive the ball forward to score. He couldn’t manage it, instead returning the ball to Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who picked it up and got on with the game. TV replays showed that even if Ramsdale had not intervened, the effort would have gone wide from the far post.
It was a terrible miss, sent across the world on social media in seconds. The really sad part is that no one who regularly watches United was that surprised.
Antony needed a fresh start. It is hoped he can relaunch his career elsewhere.
But he will never rid himself of the stigma of one of the worst transfers in Manchester United’s history.