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For INEOS, a regime intending to get to grips with Manchester United’s status as a loss-making enterprise, the potential €100million deal to bring Antony to Old Trafford stands out as a particularly acute example of the kind of lavish spending that has put the club in a precarious financial position.
With the Brazilian now in the Spanish city of Seville, having joined La Liga’s Real Betis on loan until the end of the season, United fans will be left contemplating how a player with such a price tag — £84.1million/$105.1m at the current exchange rate, the second-most expensive transfer in club history behind the re-signing of Paul Pogba in summer 2016 — could deliver just 12 goals and five assists in two and a half seasons.
The truth is United knew they were paying over the odds even at the time, according to sources familiar with the matter, speaking to The Athletic on condition of anonymity to protect relationships.
That awareness can be seen in Antony’s salary, which is akin to that of a mid-ranking member of the squad rather than a star signing. Antony agreed terms worth £140,000 per week for seasons when United are in the Champions League, plus bonuses based on individual performances, but because they are only competing in the second-tier Europa League this term, thus invoking the standard 25 per cent cut for their players, his salary has been around £105,000 a week.
Antony’s representatives had, when negotiating his deal, pitched at £250,000 per week, which would typically be commensurate with a transfer involving such a fee. Securing that would have represented a five-fold rise on what he had been earning at his previous club, Ajax of the Netherlands.
But his leverage in talks with United was weakened because he had told Ajax he wanted the move and, in his attempts to secure it, he stopped turning up for training in the closing days of that summer 2022 window. Figures at United were able to push back in contract talks in the knowledge Antony was desperate to join the Premier League club and they intimated improved terms could be on the cards if he did well, but that he would have to accept entry-level terms at first.
Sticking to a relatively modest salary for a club of their revenue meant United had options when surveying the market for Antony this window. Betis, whose median salary is around £40,000 per week, according to Capology, could afford to push the boat out a little for the 24-year-old. They will cover 84 per cent of his wage at a minimum, plus potential bonuses based on achievements, with only former Real Madrid and Spain forward Isco thought to be earning more than him in their squad.
But the disparity in Antony’s wage compared to his transfer fee, which is still the 18th highest in football history, is evidence of United appreciating that they were paying an excessive amount to Amsterdam-based Ajax even while signing the paperwork.
There was internal pushback over the money involved from people minded to protect the club’s finances and the decision on confirming the move was not unanimous, but senior figures decided they could live with the transfer premium given the circumstances, partly because the salary was not that high. Financial fair play (FFP) regulations and the club’s cash levels were a consideration, but they did not dominate thoughts in 2022 the way they do at present.
Antony was intended to be a starting winger…
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