Antony has claimed he was very close to signing for Liverpool just months before his move to Manchester United. At the time, Reds star Mohamed Salah was in a similar position to what he is now — with his contract running down.
This supposedly led to Antony being identified as a possible replacement before Salah decided to sign a lucrative new deal. At this point, Antony had just wrapped up his second full season with Dutch heavyweights Ajax, securing his second Eredivisie title at just 22 years old.
Later that summer, following United's appointment of Ajax manager Erik ten Hag, the Old Trafford outfit shelled out an eye-watering $105m (£83m/€100m) for Antony in what turned out to be an expensive error. The Brazilian had a challenging two-and-a-half-year stint at Old Trafford before moving to Spanish club Real Betis on loan until the end of this season in January.
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However, things could have taken a different turn for Antony, the Brazilian has claimed. In a chat with the Arab news outlet Kooora, the 25-year-old claimed: "I was very close to signing for Liverpool, but you never know what would have happened. In the end, I went to Manchester and had great moments there, and that was a good choice as well."
Antony has made no secret of his admiration for Salah. "He is an amazing player and has been doing great things for a long time," he said. "He is a very great player. I don't know if he is the best in the world currently, but he is definitely among the best and is a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or."
The Brazilian winger has quickly silenced any doubters with three goals and two assists in just six appearances for Real Betis. This week brought further good news for Antony as his red card from the Getafe clash was rescinded, setting him up to continue his strong form when Real Betis takes on La Liga giant Real Madrid this weekend.
Amid speculations about his future and whether Manchester United might recall him under new management with Ruben Amorim at the helm, Antony remains non-committal: "I am very happy here, but I do not know what will happen in the future," he said.
""I always say that I enjoy every day, with the club, the city, everything, and I give my best for the team. It is still too early to talk about my future. I think that to regain my confidence, the most important thing was to reconnect with myself. I found that here, and that's why I'm very happy and more confident every day."
Liverpool.com says: Antony didn't work for Manchester United but that could have been down to the disarray that Ten Hag had the team playing in. The Brazilian is a good player and he is showing that while he is in Spain.
