Antony’s agent has said he “completely disagrees” with Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim’s analysis that his client lacks the physicality needed to compete in the Premier League.
The Brazil winger, who joined Real Betis on a six-month loan from United in January, scored only 12 goals in 96 appearances for the Red Devils since his £85 million ($109m) transfer from Ajax in 2022.
Amorim said that Antony struggled because of the physical demands of the Premier League.
“We respect the opinion of coach Ruben Amorim, but we completely disagree with his analysis,” Antony’s agent Júnior Pedroso told Marca.
“Associating Antony’s lack of success at Manchester United solely with the issue of his physique is a very superficial argument and does not correspond to reality.”
According to Pedroso, Amorim, who took over the coaching job at United in November, did not give Antony an opportunity to prove his worth.
“The truth is that Antony has not had enough prominence or the confidence necessary to display his best football,” he said. “Of the 15 games in which Amorim managed Manchester United, he only used Antony in nine, with a total of 252 minutes played. This represents only 18.6% of the total possible minutes (1,350 minutes). How can you judge an athlete without enough time for him to demonstrate his worth?”
Antony said last month that his move to Betis was what his career needed after not making an impact at Old Trafford.
Antony has been an instant hit at Betis, scoring two goals and setting up two more in five LaLiga appearances.
“It has been an incredible experience for both him and his family.” Pedroso said. “It seems that he has been at Betis for years, so natural has his adaptation been. He feels completely comfortable in Seville and is delighted with the city and the club. All this reinforces that the decision was absolutely correct.
“LaLiga was the ideal destination … Betis is a competitive team, that has a style of play that adapts well to Antony’s qualities and an experienced coach like Manuel Pellegrini, who knows how to make the most of attacking players.”
The loan deal which took Antony to Betis did not include an option for the Spanish club to automatically make his stay permanent this summer.
However, Betis have already made it clear that they are keen for Antony to continue at the Seville-based outfit next season.
The 25-year-old has a contract with United until June 2027.
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