Antony’s agent explains why move to Liverpool fell through before joining MU

Antony's agent Junior Pedroso admits Liverpool wanted to land the Brazilian before Mohamed Salah's contract situation changed their approach.

The Manchester United winger, then at Ajax, had impressed with the Dutch team and had several clubs monitoring his situation. Erik ten Hag had just moved to Old Trafford and was determined to take Antony with him.

Liverpool were also monitoring his situation and had shortlisted the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Salah. At the time, the Egyptian, who had just been named the Premier League's best player, wanted to sign a great contract but was reluctant to agree to a new contract.

Eventually, Salah put pen to paper to stay at Liverpool – but until then they considered Antony as his replacement – but their interest ended when the Egyptian made his decision.

Pedroso told winwin.com: “Yes, this story is true. No (negotiations stopped because Salah extended his contract with Liverpool at the time, and that made Antony's move to Liverpool impossible.”

That summer, Antony would move to Manchester for over £80 million after the player himself went on strike to force the move. Ten Hag underlined his determination to take the Brazilian with him in his first summer.

Antony would score on his debut as the Red Devils beat Arsenal, but that was as good as it got for the forward. Since then, he has been regularly criticized and seen as one of the biggest flops of the Premier League era, with his future now unclear following Ten Hag's sacking.

Antony had been identified and profiled during the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era, and they considered him a player worth £20 million in the region. They ended up paying about four times as much to finally secure his services, but he didn't recoup that investment.

Several former players, such as Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, have criticized the decision to sign Antony, which will go down as one of the worst of the modern era. Neville had also put pressure on the Glazers for agreeing to such a move after back-to-back losses at the start of that season.