Antony Reveals Liverpool Bid and Klopp's Interest in Salah's Future
Antony’s Manchester United story has never really escaped the price tag. £82 million. Big expectations. A brutal Premier League spotlight. And, in the end, a quiet exit.
Now, from the calmer surroundings of Real Betis, the Brazilian has lifted the lid on just how different his career – and Liverpool’s attack – might have looked.
“I had a proposal from Liverpool, from Klopp”
Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Antony revisited the summer of 2022, when his explosive form at Ajax turned him into one of Europe’s most wanted wingers. Erik ten Hag pushed hard to take him to Old Trafford. That much was known.
What wasn’t widely understood was how close Liverpool came.
“When I went to Manchester United, I had a proposal from Liverpool, from Klopp, on the table,” Antony said. “It was also very good. Salah was negotiating a departure, but he ended up staying. Then the manager called me. The name of Manchester United carries weight.”
At that point, Mohamed Salah’s contract stand-off had dragged on long enough to make Liverpool nervous. The club explored alternatives. Antony, left-footed, direct, and thriving in Ten Hag’s Ajax, fit the profile as a possible heir to the right flank.
Liverpool’s interest, Antony says, was not a vague enquiry. It was a concrete proposal, shaped around the possibility that Salah might walk away from Anfield.
Salah stayed. And the dominoes fell United’s way.
United’s gamble, Liverpool’s continuity
In retrospect, the sliding doors moment is striking.
Salah eventually signed his new deal and remained Liverpool’s attacking heartbeat, extending a spell on Merseyside that would bring another Premier League title and further silverware. Across his Liverpool career he produced 257 goals in 442 appearances in all competitions, a staggering return for a wide forward, even if this season’s return of 12 goals in 41 games signalled a clear dip from his usual standards.
United, meanwhile, paid heavily to prise Antony from Ajax. Ten Hag got his man. The club got their statement signing. The expectation was that the Brazilian would become a long-term pillar of United’s attack.
It never quite happened.
Flashes of quality arrived, but the consistency never did. The fee became a stick to beat him with. Performances dipped, confidence followed, and scrutiny intensified. Last summer, Antony’s United chapter closed with a permanent move to Real Betis, where he has quietly rebuilt his reputation.
Fourteen goals and 10 assists in 46 games for Betis this season tell their own story. In Spain, he looks more like the winger United thought they were buying.
“A bit of a lack of respect”
Antony has not hidden his frustration at how his time in Manchester unfolded off the pitch as well as on it.
“Look, I'm not the kind of guy who gets involved in controversies, who names people, in fact, I won't mention anyone's name here,” he told ESPN Brazil. “But I think there was a bit of a lack of respect there, even a bit of rudeness too, with no one giving you a good morning, a good afternoon.
“Not even that. But, anyway, that's in the past, I won't give much importance to these things. Now I'm here, at Betis, I'm living here, that's the most important thing for me.”
It’s a pointed reflection on a club where he never truly settled. No direct accusations, no names, but a clear sense that the environment did not match the scale of the investment.
A what-if for both sides
Antony’s revelation adds a new layer to one of the Premier League’s great recent transfer sagas.
Had Salah walked, Liverpool might have reshaped their front line around a 22-year-old Brazilian from Ajax rather than their Egyptian superstar. Instead, Salah stayed and kept scoring, anchoring another era at Anfield.
United stepped in, paid big, and carried the risk. Two years on, Antony is thriving in Seville, Salah’s numbers are finally showing signs of decline, and that summer window looks very different in hindsight.
The name of Manchester United did carry weight. The question now is whether the decision did the same for Antony’s career – or whether the real turning point for him is only just beginning at Betis.
