Manchester United forward Antony has admitted he feels ‘safer’ away from the club while on loan with Real Betis.
Estadio Deportivo cover an interview with the Brazilian today made to Kooora, in which he discusses his current loan deal and life at Manchester United previously.
The forward joined Real Betis on loan in the January transfer window after falling out of favour under Ruben Amorim since his arrival at Old Trafford.
He appears to have gotten his career quickly back on track in Spain, with several impressive performances and three goals and two assists in six games in all competitions for the club so far.
Those are impressive numbers given the 12 goals and five assists he managed in 96 games for Manchester United, and he admits he feels more comfortable and safer at his current club.
“The most important thing to regain my confidence was to reconnect with myself. I found myself here and that’s why I’m very happy at Betis. Every day I feel more secure,” he said.
“Pellegrini is very important to me. Before signing with Betis, I spoke to him, and he gave me a lot of confidence. His experience and history give me energy every day to do well.
“When I made the decision to come here, it was to find myself again, as I mentioned before. There is always pressure, but the greatest pressure I felt was when I was living in the poor neighbourhoods of Brazil, thinking about my family and everything.”
The question is what happens to Antony in the summer, with his current deal only running until the end of the season and not including a purchase option.
The hope for Manchester United was that he would impress in Spain and revalue himself ahead of a move in the summer transfer window.
The big problem is their asking price, with the club determined to recoup as much of the €95m they paid for him as they can.
That means Antony finds himself out of the reach of most clubs, including Betis. For now, he’s simply focused on the Spanish club and continuing to impress, although he insists that he doesn’t think about his price tag anyway.
“I’m very happy here, but I don’t know what will happen in the future,” he said.
“I always say that I enjoy every day with the club, the city and everything that surrounds me, and I give my best for the team. It’s still too early to talk about my future.
“I know how much money they paid for me. I worked and continue to work hard to perform at the highest level, but I don’t focus on transfer prices, neither mine nor any other player’s.”
