Antony wrote a book himself, became a father, and made his Brazil U23 debut – all when the player was just 19 years old. This has partly removed the doubts of Man Utd fans when questioning the maturity of the Brazilian midfielder.
However, £84m is still too much for a player who has never played in the Premier League at such a young age. Antony scored a total of 12 goals in 33 appearances for Ajax last season.
Antony will become one of Ajax’s biggest signings when the club demands £ 84m for the 22-year-old.
Antony moved from South America to join Ajax in 2020 when both Man City and Everton failed to offer a reasonable fee for the Brazilian midfielder. By 2022, Antony’s value has increased tremendously. The player is said to want to be reunited with his “old teacher” – coach Erik ten Hag and teammate Lisandro Martinez to come to Man Utd.
For Ajax, this is a “profitable” deal that can’t be better. Ajax’s revenue soared to £193m in the summer transfer window – including the sale of center-back Martinez to Man Utd for £48.3m – while the club spent just £91m.
Antony’s full name is Antony Matheus Dos Santos. He joined the academy of the local club – Sao Paulo when he was 10 years old.
The young midfielder helped Sao Paulo win the J League World Challenge in Japan and was named the best player. In 2018, Antony had his first professional contract at the age of 18.
Just 12 months later, Antony became a father with a son named Lorenzo and made his debut for the Brazil U23 team, playing alongside Bruno Guimaraes, who is currently playing for Newcastle.
Antony later wrote a book called “From Overcoming A Real Dream”, a diary of the pressures of being a famous footballer in Brazil.
Antony wrote about his problems during his time playing in the Sao Paulo youth team and revealed that he had missed his debut three times.
After his debut for Sao Paulo, Antony’s Sao Paulo teammate Lucas Moura congratulated the youngster and told him to “work hard” and keep fighting. Antony and Moura are still very close.
The Brazilian is just 5ft 9in (1 m74) tall, plays as a right winger or attacking midfielder, and is known for his left-footed tackles.
Antony won two Eredivisie titles (the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands) under Ten Hag.
The young midfielder continued his fine form at the start of the season, scoring one goal and adding two assists in the first two games of the Eredivisie before being dropped from the squad for the match against Sparta Rotterdam.
Although still a new face on the international scene, Antony is expected to become a star at the World Cup in Qatar. He made his Brazilian national team debut against Venezuela in a World Cup qualifier and has now made nine appearances.
But in the past few months, Antony has shown signs of decline at Ajax. Antony said: “In February of this year, my agent went to Amsterdam to inform Ajax of his desire to leave the club.
“In June, I postponed my holiday to personally inform the Ajax management, including the new coach, of my desire to leave and suggest that the club should consider this possibility.
“In a meeting with the club, I expressed my previous desire to leave, only this opportunity is worth discussing.
“Ajax refused, arguing that the club had only five days to find a replacement for me.”
However, Antony is still getting exactly what he wants. Previously, the player reacted to his desire to leave when he did not participate in Ajax’s 1-0 victory over Sparta Rotterdam and posted on social networks about following and supporting Man Utd in the match with Liverpool. recently.
