Antony arrived at Old Trafford last summer for huge money (Picture: Getty Images)
PSV Eindhoven director of football Marcel Brands says that Manchester United’s big-money move for Antony last summer was ‘a madness’ and everyone in football knows it.
After pursuing the Brazilian winger for some time during the transfer window, the Red Devils finally met the price Ajax were asking for him, a whopping £85.5m.
It was a mind-boggling figure for the left-footed forward who has since turned 23, making him one of the most expensive signings in Premier League history.
Brands, who was director of football at Everton from 2018-21, could not believe what United had paid for Antony, comparing the transfer fee to the likes of Gabriel Jesus (£45) and Raphinha (£55m) who moved from Manchester City to Arsenal and Leeds to Barcelona respectively last year.
‘I think Raphinha is an even better player than Antony, but he left for much less,’ Brands told Dutch publication Voetbalprimeur.
‘If you compare it with transfers that were realistic, such as that of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City to Arsenal: that was also around that rate. Those are normal amounts.
‘I think everyone in football knows that Antony was a madness.’
Antony has had a solid enough start to life at Old Trafford, scoring seven goals in all competitions, although it was always going to be a struggle to live up to his enormous price tag.
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has been underwhelmed with the winger so far, but admits that is partly due to the amount of cash it took to bring him to Old Trafford.
‘The jury is still out on Antony,’ Yorke told Premier League Odds. ‘With the fee that’s been paid for him, you’d expect him to set the Premier League alight.
Antony scored a memorable goal against Real Betis in the Europa League earlier in the week (Picture: Getty Images)
‘From the clips I’ve seen of him before he joined, he did look impressive but it’s often the same case with foreign leagues, players come to the Premier League and struggle because it’s a different ball game.
‘In time we might see the full potential of Antony, but what we expected of him, especially me, I thought he’d be a lot more effective.
‘I’ll give him a pass for now because of where the team is and how we’re performing, but I do expect a lot more from Antony going forward.’
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‘I think everyone in football knows that Antony was a madness.’