Former Manchester United winger Antony has revealed that he turned down a lucrative move to Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga Champions reached out to him in the last 48 hours before the summer transfer officially closed but the Brazilian only wanted to join Real Betis.
The 25-year-old was able to revive his career away from Old Trafford during the 2025-26 campaign after his stunning loan move to Real Betis where he scored nine times in 26 games for the La Liga club and helped them reach last season’s UEFA Conference League final while also being called up once again to Brazil’s national team.
The former Ajax ace returned to Old Trafford in June after his loan deal expired and after his permanent move to Betis from Manchester United was briefly stalled on, Antony claimed he had offers from other clubs including Bayern.
According to a post on Fabrizio Romano Facebook page, Antony claimed Bayern made a late attempt to sign him and were reportedly willing to double his wages but he only wanted to join Real Betis. The post reads:
REVEALED!! Antony: “Bayern CALLED ME in the final 48h… but I ONLY WANTED BETIS.
That was a stance that deserves respect. It wasn’t easy for Betis, and also for Antony. The Brazil international had to stand strong in the face of pressure from Man United, who were desperate to offload him to a number of clubs that put forward strong financial proposals.
The 25-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements at United under Ruben Amorim and the Brazilian winger had not been involved in the Red Devils’ pre-season summer tour. The former United exile had been linked with several clubs this summer amid Betis’ transfer interest, including Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Fenerbahce’
Antony signed a contract with Betis until June 2030 after an agreement was reached between the clubs shortly before the close of the transfer window on Monday. They agreed to pay United a transfer fee of £21.65m to make the move permanent.
Antony was presented as a Betis player on Tuesday, and during the press conference, he broke down in tears whilst discussing his difficult time he had earlier in the summer at Man United. He revealed that he had been living in a hotel for weeks prior to making the move back to Andalusia, as he awaited a club-to-club agreement.
Given that Antony has not played a competitive match since Betis’ UEFA Conference League final defeat to Chelsea at the end of last season, he will need time to get back up to speed. The international break comes at a good time for him, and he will hope to be ready for Los Verdiblancos’ trip to Levante on September 14.
