Antony has expanded on his difficult spell at Manchester United, offering new details in a lengthy interview with ESPN Brazil.
His comments act as a follow-up to remarks already covered here, where the Brazilian admitted he felt “disrespected” by the club before sealing a permanent move to Real Betis.
This time, Antony provided much more context. He explained what daily life looked like while he was sidelined from the main squad and included specific examples of how he experienced the “lack of respect” that made headlines earlier in the week.
“I reported back on July 14 and trained separately for more than a month. It was very complicated. For more than 40 days we stayed in hotels. Me and my father were there, waiting. I trained at five in the afternoon while the group trained in the morning,” he revealed. “I felt there was a lack of respect, even a lack of education. Nobody said good morning or good afternoon. Not even that.”
The winger’s isolation at Carrington had already been covered in Spain, but the additional detail about being pushed into evening training sessions, far from his teammates, is new.
Antony added that it became a test of patience and faith: “It was a moment to test myself, to believe. I knew that something good would happen, even if doubts crossed my mind.”
Perhaps most striking were the personal consequences. Antony revealed that, during his time in Manchester, he missed key moments of his young family’s life. “I lost my son’s first steps because I was away. That hurt a lot,” he said.
He added that his family constantly reminded him of their roots in São Paulo, keeping perspective alive. “They reminded me: it’s difficult now, but it was harder in the slums, when you slept on a sofa. That helped me see the good side of things.”
The 25-year-old also went further than before in assuming responsibility for what went wrong at Old Trafford. “I know my potential, I know my qualities, but off-field problems affected me. I also take responsibility for not delivering what I wanted. The truth is that those off-the-pitch matters hurt my performance a lot,” he admitted.
The winger stressed that he does not look back with regret, but rather as someone who learned hard lessons. “Maybe if I had exploded right away, I might have lost myself later. It was necessary to go through that process. Today I feel like a better man, a better father,” he explained.
Another new revelation was Antony’s admission that he had once been close to joining Liverpool before his transfer to United. “Before closing with United, I was very close to Liverpool. But the path was meant to be what it was,” he said.
For Manchester United fans, the picture is as clear as ever: Antony’s £85m transfer never delivered on the pitch, but in his own words, the experience shaped him as a player, father and person, even if the memories remain tinged with disappointment.
