Man United could get extra £20m+ after agreeing ‘interesting’ Antony deal
Manchester United could get more than £21million extra if Real Betis go on to sell Antony in a big-money deal.
Antony joined Real Betis permanently on deadline day (1 September) after Man United spent the summer window trying to offload the winger.
The La Liga club have agreed to pay £21.7million for the Brazil international, with Ruben Amorim’s side receiving a 50 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal.
Antony spent the second half of last season on loan with Real Betis, where he registered nine goals and five assists in 26 appearances.
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider the deal looks “awful” based on the headline figures after Man United signed Antony for £81million from Ajax in 2022.
Man United have mitagated Antony ‘damage’
Amorim made it clear Antony wasn’t part of his plans after he was made available for a permanent transfer this summer.
The 25-year-old registered 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances at Old Trafford.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “The reality is there are no buyers, so if you’ve got no buyers, then what are you going to do?
“He’s a player with a big liability, and they’ve done an interesting deal in some ways. It’s €25million (£21.7million), but the sell-on is 50 per cent of anything. It’s not 50 per cent of any profit, and he’s 25.
“It’s not a terrible deal for United. Obviously, on the headline it looks awful. You bought him for more than €90million (£78million), you sold him for €25million.
“Obviously, that is not a good-looking deal, but you have to look at it with the benefit. The cost is sunk, it’s gone. They have spent the money and the player has failed.
“So, you’ve got to look at it as you are now and say, we’ve got €25million and, if he does anything at all at Betis, that’s impressive. They can sell him for €50million (£43.4million) somewhere you would think, and that’s going to get United another €25million.
“So, it’s not terrible. If he fails completely, then they still got €25million for a player that’s now failed at United and failed at Betis, so they’ve come out of it not well, but they’ve mitigated the damage.
“It’s better than having a Sterling situation or a Kalvin Phillips situation, where the player appears to be worth almost zero.”
Christian Eriksen could be about to join new club
Meanwhile, Football Insider revealed on 7 September Christian Eriksen is likely to join a new club soon after being released by Man United in July.
Eriksen has been training with Malmo in Sweden in a bid to keep up his fitness ahead of his next move as he remains keen to play at the highest level in Europe.
Several Premier League and Championship clubs are believed to have been keeping an eye on his situation and are expected to act outside of the transfer window.
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