New Manchester United signing Antony turned down the opportunity to join Manchester City when Pep Guardiola wanted to sign him in 2019.
The Red Devils finally confirmed his official arrival at Old Trafford on Thursday morning, having agreed an £85million fee with Ajax earlier this week. He became the club’s fifth signing of the summer as Erik ten Hag continues to overhaul his new squad following his appointment at the end of last season.
The Brazil international signed a five-year deal until 2027, with the option for an extra year, worth around £200,000-a-week. He is expected to become a fixture on the right-side of United’s three-man attack and is their second most expensive ever signing, behind only Paul Pogba.
Yet the 22-year-old came close to moving to the Premier League three years ago, when United’s city rivals attempted to sign him – when he was then playing at Sao Paulo. In 2020, he was to join Ajax from the Brazilian club but that only came after he opted against an immediate move to England.
As outlined by the Telegraph, City submitted an offer of £17million for the forward in 2019 – an offer which was to include a season on loan at Portuguese club Sporting CP, prior to him becoming integrated into the first-team setup at the Etihad.
Yet City were not the only major Premier League club to register a strong interest, with Chelsea said to have made a ‘firm approach’ with the club’s former influential director Marina Granovskaia said to have made a personal promise to the players representatives. Liverpool had also been alerted to his progress and were monitoring his situation closely.
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However, Antony decided against the career-defining move in preference of remaining in Brazil for a further six months before making the move to Europe in 2020 to join Ajax – where he developed under Ten Hag across two-and-a-half years.
It was not only top clubs who were impressed by Antony’s progress but elite players too – with BBC Sport detailing how Neymar raved about the forward during a World Cup qualification match in South America, encouraging Brazil’s boss Tite to give Antony the freedom to dribble.
Antony will now link up with his former Ajax teammate Lisandro Martinez at United, alongside fellow summer additions Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro. Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka will arrive on a season-long loan deal from Newcastle United.
