Ajax chief Edwin van der Sar has insisted they “couldn’t say no” to Manchester United’s offer for Antony in the summer.
The Brazilian moved to Old Trafford in a €95m deal at the end of August following months of speculation about his future in the Netherlands.
He had been linked with a move to Manchester United from the second Erik ten Hag was confirmed as the new manager before the end of last season.
At one point it had appeared that a transfer was inevitable but United initially spent their summer strengthening elsewhere, signing the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia.
They then returned later in the window to discuss a deal for Antony, leading to weeks of intense negotiations that eventually saw the Brazilian join Manchester United at the end of the window.
The €95m Manchester United paid ensured a huge profit for Ajax, who had only paid €15.75m to sign him from Sao Paulo in July 2020.
Making such big profits on players has become their trademark in the transfer market and on this occasion, Van der Sar admits they simply couldn’t say no.
“It was an extremely busy transfer summer, with so many players leaving,” he told Ajax Life.
“Also a few at the last minute, because there was an offer we couldn’t say ‘no’ to. The team is now, also with Alfred Schreuder as the new coach, developing.”
