Manchester United Flop Now "better Than Vinicius Jr"

Manchester United manager's manager, Ruben Amorim, said that Antony, the player the club signed for $109 million, "lacked the physicality needed to play in the Premier League". But that's tame in comparison.

Manchester United fans described him as "the worst signing of all time"; "absolutely horrific"; and "a shocking player who should be nowhere near the first team".

So it was of little surprise when Antony was shunted out of the club in the January transfer window, albeit on a loan deal to Spanish outfit Real Betis. 

Since when he has excelled, propelling the team to sixth place in La Liga and within touching distance of Champions League qualification. 

In his 13 league games, Betis’s record reads: won nine, lost two, drawn two. He has seven goals and four assists in 20 games. Better than Vinicius Jr, as the club have mockingly pointed out.

Real Betis' official account on IG:

"Vinicius and Anthony stats in 2025 since the goat joined Real Betis. There's only one clear Ballon D'Or 2025 contender in my book."

???? pic.twitter.com/KSzKmuiMY0

— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 6, 2025

In short, he's unrecognizable from the player Manchester United fans saw. 

ANTONY PLACES AN ABSOLUTE WORLDIE TOP BINS TO COMPLETE THE COMEBACK FROM 0-1 DOWN AND WIN IT FOR REAL BETIS 2-1 IN THE 90+1 MINUTE ???????????? pic.twitter.com/61YoMt11co

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 4, 2025

So what's changed? It starts with the manager. Sometimes it just takes the right connection and a fatherly figure to show love to a player who has faced nothing but abuse for months. “Pellegrini has given me a lot of confidence,” Antony said. 

Amorim's not completely wrong in the notion that some players do struggle with the demands of the Premier League. But if the talent is there, it usually just takes time. Lest we forget José Mourinho once had Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne on his books at Chelsea, but let both go. How did that workout?

Antony is not the only United reject to thrive once leaving Old Trafford behind. Rashford had completely lost all semblance of the player he used to be, having fallen out with Ten Hag and Amorim. He is born again at Aston villa under Unai Emery.

Scott McTominay rarely seemed to be fully trusted at Manchester United and was regularly benched. At Napoli he has 11 goals and 2 assists in 31 matches and is a key part of Napoli's rise to the top of Serie A.

While the answer may be a combination of the above, perhaps it's also indicative of the deeper malaise and low morale at Manchester United behind the scenes. 

The scattergun transfers; the lack of an ethos on and off the pitch; the Jim Ratcliffe takeover; the hiring and firing of Sporting Director, Dan Ashworth; even the closing of the staff canteen.

As the saying goes, a fish rots from the head down. Perhaps Antony and others couldn't stand the stench.

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