Antony: Ex-Man United winger claims former teammate begged him to stay

Former Manchester United winger Antony has claimed that one Red Devil begged him to stay at the club.

Struggles at United

Antony moved to Old Trafford in 2022 for an eye-watering sum of £82 million.

The Brazil international never really got going though and despite a couple of high points in his first season, struggled at Old Trafford.

He only managed 3 goals in 38 appearances during his second season and struggled for game time under Erik ten Hag.

When the Dutchman was sacked last year, his fate was sealed as Ruben Amorim sent him out on loan to Real Betis in January 2025.

Here, he impressed scoring and assisting for fun and finally made a permanent move to the south of Spain in the summer transfer window.

Matheus Cunha begged him

Whilst most fans would have had little issue with Antony leaving the club, the player claims he had at least one player in the team who was desperate for him to stay.

Speaking to Spanish paper AS, he claimed new signing Matheus Cunha, his compatriot, begged him to stay at Old Trafford.

Antony explained that, “Matheus Cunha wanted me to play there with him, but the situation was already very difficult. I’m very fond of him.”

Cunha joined United from Wolverhampton Wanderers early in the summer transfer window.

Commenting on his relationship with United head coach Ruben Amorim he claimed, “I didn’t talk much with Rúben Amorim, we didn’t have much contact.”

He added, it was “his decision to have me train separately. But it had to be respected. Today I’m fine, I took care of myself by training well even though I was separated. After three months, I played 90 minutes and that’s the result of what I was working towards.”

Featured image Gabriele Maltinti via Getty Images

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