Only once more would Antony, whose full name is Antony Matheus dos Santos, play at the stadium before Manchester United called.
Ajax gave up after rejecting United’s first three offers, selling the 22-year-old for £81.3 million plus a further £4.2 million in add-ons.
Antony flew to Manchester on Monday with his four delegates. His representative, Junior Pedroso, posted a picture to Instagram that was taken inside a private jet. “Behind the scenes on an incredible day” was the caption.
Antony could only dream of such luxury since he grew up in the notoriously dangerous favelas of Osasco, São Paulo, where crime rates are high and living standards are low.
Even though Antony loved football and played it on dusty local fields, his parents were unable to afford boots for him. He went without food a lot of the time, and sometimes he had to get up early to help his parents pump water out of their flooded flat.
Antony’s aunt and uncle started taking him to São Paulo games when he was six years old. When the nine-year-old striker first enrolled in São Paulo’s Cotia academy, he did not look well. The club almost let him go three times, but he didn’t give up and made his main team debut at the age of eighteen.
When Antony was selected for the 2019 Copa São Paulo, a youth competition, the next year, his career underwent a significant shift.
Antony was persuaded to play with the youth squad instead of the first team during their preseason tour to the United States, and it proved to be a smart decision. His four goals and six assists showed scouts from Ajax, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Nice, and Everton what a talented player he was.
A European club offered São Paulo €20 million (now £17.3 million) in the summer of 2019, but they rejected it. Ajax then acquired him for €21.75 million the following year. Antony declined to collect his $1.5 million (£1.3 million) bonus because of São Paulo’s £25 million debt.
Not all Amsterdam residents welcomed Antony’s arrival. “It’s ridiculous that they are going to buy a youth player from Brazil for more than €20 million,” remarked the illustrious Dutchman Marco van Basten.
Antony devoured Van Basten’s remarks. The Brazilian left-footed athlete dazzled the Ajax fans with a number of outrageous antics, such as a 360-degree spin with the ball lodged in his left boot.
In his first season, he scored nine goals and assisted eight more to help Erik ten Hag win his second Eredivisie.
Ajax realised that Ten Hag would try to sign some of his former teammates. But they never expected to earn £55 million on the transfer of Lisandro Martínez, and several club staff thought Antony would only receive £50–60 million rather than £85.5 million.
Even though Antony has nine caps for Brazil, it is clear that United paid too much for him, but the organisation still believes they have signed one of the best young offensive possibilities in Europe.
United would consider Antony’s signing to be a smart choice if he can make the same kind of impression on the Old Trafford crowd as he did at Ajax.The young football pro started collecting medals at a young age.
It’s clear how Ten Hag want to incorporate him into the team. Antony will be used as an inverted right winger, just like he was at Ajax. Marcus Rashford, who plays right-footed, and Jadon Sancho will compete for left wing. Ten Hag is positive that Rashford can play there as well, although Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo are the front-runners for the attacking role.
Antony will recognise some familiar faces at United. During his two years at Ajax, he remained good friends with Martínez, and from their time together in the São Paulo academy, he was acquainted with Casemiro. The Argentina defender has quickly become a fan favourite at Old Trafford because to his combative displays, and Antony thinks their mentalities are similar.