Antony had enjoyed a stellar season with Ajax when Manchester United came knocking – but he could’ve gone to Liverpool had Mohamed Salah made a different call on his future
Antony had enjoyed a stellar season with Ajax when Manchester United came knocking – but he could’ve gone to Liverpool had Mohamed Salah made a different call on his future Antony had enjoyed a stellar season with Ajax when Manchester United came knocking – but he could’ve gone to Liverpool had Mohamed Salah made a different call on his future
Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso admits Liverpool were looking to land the Brazilian – before Mohamed Salah‘s contract situation changed their approach.
The Manchester United winger, then at Ajax, had impressed with the Dutch outfit and had several clubs keeping tabs on his situation. Erik ten Hag had just moved to Old Trafford and was determined to bring Antony with him.
Liverpool too were tracking his situation and had shortlisted the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Salah. Back then the Egyptian, who had just been named the Premier League’s best player, was looking to sign a bumper contract, but was stalling on a new deal.
Eventually Salah put pen to paper to remain at Liverpool – but until then they were considering Antony as his replacement – only for their interest to end when the Egyptian made his decision.
Pedroso told winwin.com : “Yes, this story has a basis in truth. No (negotiations stopped as), Salah renewed his contract at the time with Liverpool, and that made Antony’s move to Liverpool impossible.”
That summer Antony would move to Manchester for more than £80million after the player himself went on strike to force through the move and Ten Hag underlined his determination to bring the Brazilian with him in his first summer.
Antony would score on his debut as the Red Devils saw off Arsenal, but that was as good as it got for the forward. He has since been regularly criticised and is viewed as one of the biggest flops in the Premier League era with his future now unclear after Ten Hag’s sacking.
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Antony had been identified and profiled during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era – and they deemed him a player worth in the region on £20m. They ended paying around four times that to eventually land his services, but he hasn’t provided a return on that investment.
Several ex-players, the likes of Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, have criticised the move to sign Antony, which will go down as one of the worst of the modern era. Neville had also hammered the Glazers for signing off on such a move following successive losses to begin that season.
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