Former Manchester United midfielder Gordon Strachan said Antony's performances remind him of Cristiano Ronaldo's during his early days at at the club.
The summer signing has scored ten goals and assisted a further four for teammates across 40 appearances during his debut season at Old Trafford. But Strachan, who played over 200 matches for United in the 1980s, is still to be impressed.
Antony has caught the eye with several pieces of skill this season, as Ronaldo often did during that first spell at the club. Equally, the Brazil international has been lacking in end product on occasions.
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“Well, he has assets,” Strachan said when asked about Antony in an interview with Casinosite.nl. "He kind of reminds me of Ronaldo, although it’s never nice to throw another name in the mix.
”He seems to think he is (Ronaldo), but I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good as Ronaldo. There’s too much work on the ball.
”I don’t think Antony can get anywhere near where Ronaldo reached, but I think he’s got to ask himself: ‘am I doing this for myself, or am I doing it for the team?’ If you’re genuinely doing it for the team, then fine. If you’re doing it for yourself, then cut it out.
”Ronaldo picked it up really early and still understands that. The last couple of weeks, we’ve seen magical things from him (Antony), but sometimes when life’s not great, you have to be a good teammate first.”
Strachan is keen for Bruno Fernandes to set a better example as United captain too. ”What we’re talking about is a wonderful footballer, but he doesn’t do himself any favours,” Strachan added. ”If he could just take away the play acting, he would be one of the best loved footballers in world football.
”Think about that. But he needs people around him to tell him that it’s not acceptable. Be a leader. People follow his example, so do you really want players all the way down to the youth system to follow that example?”
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