Antony Reveals Liverpool Bid as Salah Contingency Before United Move
Antony’s Manchester United story has long been framed around one question: how did a winger signed for around £82 million end up leaving with so many doubts and so few defining moments? Now, from the quieter surroundings of Real Betis, the Brazilian has added a twist to the tale.
Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Antony revealed that in 2022 he stood at a very different crossroads. One path led to Old Trafford and a reunion with Erik ten Hag. The other, he says, could have taken him to Anfield as a potential heir to Mohamed Salah.
“I had a proposal from Liverpool”
Back in that summer window, the narrative centred on United’s desperation. Ten Hag wanted his former Ajax winger. United, reeling from years of missteps in the market, eventually paid a premium to get him out of Amsterdam.
But Antony insists they were not alone at the table.
“When I went to Manchester United, I had a proposal from Liverpool, from Klopp, on the table,” he told ESPN Brazil. “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.”
The picture he paints is striking. Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool, wary of Salah’s contract stand-off and the possibility of losing their talisman, exploring contingency plans. Antony, then one of Europe’s most coveted wide forwards, was part of that safety net.
Liverpool’s interest never materialised into a move. Salah stayed, signed a new deal and continued as the club’s attacking reference point. United, instead, went all in.
Sliding doors at the top of English football
Viewed from today, the contrast is stark.
Salah remained on Merseyside for another four years, adding another Premier League title and deepening his legend. He finished his Liverpool career with 257 goals in 442 appearances in all competitions, a haul that places him among the club’s greatest forwards, even if this past season brought a noticeable dip: 12 goals in 41 games, well below his usual output.
Antony’s trajectory went the other way. The price tag weighed heavily. The explosive, unpredictable winger from Ajax never truly appeared on a consistent basis in Manchester. Moments flickered, but they rarely caught fire. Criticism grew, patience thinned, and last summer he left United on a permanent deal.
At Betis, though, the story has shifted again. Freed from the glare of Old Trafford, Antony has put together one of the best campaigns of his career: 14 goals and 10 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions. The productivity, the confidence, the edge – all have returned in green and white.
The irony is hard to miss. The player Liverpool once considered as insurance against losing Salah has rebuilt his reputation just as the Egyptian’s own numbers have begun to taper.
“A bit of a lack of respect”
Antony has not hidden his frustration with how his time in Manchester unfolded off the pitch either. Without naming names, he suggested that the environment at United contributed to his struggles.
“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 said. “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 is a pointed reflection. Not a full-scale attack, but enough to suggest he felt isolated, perhaps even unwelcome, inside a club that had invested so heavily in him.
What might have been
The revelation of Liverpool’s proposal does not rewrite history, but it does colour it.
Imagine Anfield with Antony cutting in from the right as Salah’s long-term successor. Imagine United walking away from the bidding, Ajax forced to reassess, Ten Hag denied his favoured winger. Two of England’s biggest clubs might have been reshaped by a single decision.
Instead, Salah stayed and built on his legend. Antony chose the weight of United’s badge and paid for it with scrutiny he never managed to escape.
Now, in Spain, he looks more like the player who once had two of England’s giants competing for his signature. The question that lingers is simple: was Antony the wrong player for United, or was United the wrong place for Antony?
