Manchester United have agreed a fee in principle to sell Antony to Spanish club Real Betis – but the transfer is in the balance amid tension over how they settle the proposed multi-million pound salary reduction the Brazilian winger will face by leaving Old Trafford.
Antony impressed on loan at Betis in the second half of last season after a troublesome period at Old Trafford in which he fell out of favour after joining the club in August 2023, in which United agreed to are pay Dutch club Ajax a guaranteed €95m (£81.3m at the time), plus a potential €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.
Betis have sought to bring Antony back to Spain all summer long and matters have been inching towards a conclusion.
Sources in both England and Spain have indicated to The Athletic that a fee has been agreed for a permanent deal. The fee is €25m (£21.6m), with an additional €3m in potential bonuses. The deal will also include a sell-on clause for United, who hope they will benefit if he recovers his best form.
That clause would see United receive 50 per cent of the profit Betis make on a future transfer. This, therefore, means the profit only kicks in when the fee is above the €25 million Betis will pay for United under the terms of the deal. As such, if, for example, Barcelona sign Antony from Betis for €40 million in two years time, then United would receive €7.5m — half of the profit above the €25m fee Betis laid out.
That is not the end of the story, however, because the player who has two years left on a £6 million (€6.93m) per year contract at Old Trafford will face a wage cut by going to Betis and is seeking for the clubs to find a way to ensure he secures the €4 million shortfall he will encounter.
Betis, at this stage, insist they are not prepared to go higher, while United are also eager to minimise their contribution. Betis’ view is United must come to an arrangement with Antony for the deal to proceed and say they are exploring alternative options. Betis sources claim their agreement is considered withdrawn and no longer valid unless this is resolved between United and the player. United have been informed by the Spanish club their offer should be considered withdrawn but United are hoping that Betis are adopting a bargaining position.
United’s hope is that the two sides and the player can meet in the middle to allow the deal to proceed before the end of the transfer window.
The Athletic reported on the TransferDealsheet on August 26 that United were expected to hold firm on only considering a permanent sale rather than another loan for Antony, amid a recent renewed push by Betis.
Antony, who has two years left on his United contract, has not featured in any of the club’s opening three games of the season.
The forward joined Betis in January on loan for the remainder of 2024-25, scoring nine goals in 26 appearances and providing five assists.
Antony had played only 141 minutes for United that campaign, after falling out of head coach Ruben Amorim’s starting XI, but found form again in Spain.
The 25-year-old helped Betis reach the Conference League final, which they lost to Chelsea. His form for Betis saw him recalled to the Brazil side earlier this year by new head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Ahead of the Conference League final, Antony gave an emotional interview to TNT Sports Brazil in which he said he had gone days without eating at United after falling out of love with the game.
Betis have sought to bring Antony back to Spain all summer long and matters have been inching towards a conclusion. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
“(Coming to Betis) changed a lot because I needed to find myself, because of everything I went through in my personal life,” the Brazilian said. “As I said, I wanted to do things, but they didn’t seem to work out because I wasn’t happy, I didn’t feel that desire to play football, and I needed to find myself and be happy again because playing football was always something I loved.
“I went through difficult times (at United) when I no longer felt that pleasure. I even told my brother that I couldn’t take it any more.”
Antony signed for United for £86m in September 2022 on a five-year contract. This reunited him with head coach Erik ten Hag, who he had played under and won two Eredivisie titles with at Ajax.
The Brazil international’s most productive season in England was his first, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in all competitions in 2022-23.
After a month out of the squad at the start of 2023-24, Antony did not regain a regular position in Ten Hag’s line-ups. He ended the campaign with three goals and two assists from 38 appearances, of which 21 were as a starter.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect developments in the proposed deal
(Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)