Man Utd confirm agreement to sign Antony - Club breaks own spending record

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After months of speculation and negotiations, Manchester United have confirmed that the club have reached an agreement with Ajax to sign winger Antony before the transfer window draws to a close. According to The Athletic, the Brazil international will finally get his wish to join the Old Trafford in a deal worth an initial €95 million. 

Market Value

Antony Right Winger

€28.00m

A further €5m in add-ons may be due. In addition to Ajax, Antony’s former club São Paulo can also look forward to a windfall. The Brazilians will reportedly receive a 20% share of Ajax’s transfer profit, as well as a solidarity payment. According to Goal in Brazil, the total figure will amount to just under €20m.

With a market value of €35m, Antony’s transfer fee clearly represents Man Utd’s desire to sign a player that thrived under new manager Erik ten Hag in the Eredivisie last season. Since making the move to Ajax, the right winger has amassed no less than 24 goals and 22 assists in 82 games across all competitions. The transfer fee makes Antony the club’s record sale, overtaking the €86m Ajax received for Frenkie de Jong in 2019. 

Man Utd surpass own record - Premier League spending to break €2bn mark

Although Antony’s arrival is not enough to surpass Man Utd’s transfer record, which is still held by Paul Pogba when he joined the club from Juventus in 2016 for €105m, it makes the star of Dutch football the Old Trafford club’s second most expensive signing ever. And, following the arrival four senior players this summer, the arrival of Antony pushes Man Utd’s spending on new players to almost €240m - which surpasses the club’s own record for money spent in a single season, when the club forked out €234m on new players in 2019/20. 

United paying €95 million for Antony, Newcastle sending €70 million to Real Sociedad in return for Alexander Isak, Chelsea signing Marc Cucurella for €65 million from Brighton and preparing to put over €82 million on the table for Leicester’s Wesley Fofana: The Premier League is the first league in history to break the €2 billion mark in spending in a single summer because money is plentiful thanks to full stadiums and a new TV deal.

Although Ajax were clearly determined to keep a hold of their star forward, a breakthrough came last week when Antony broke his silence and publicly demanded to be sold by the club in favour of a move to Man Utd. In an interview with Fabrizio Romano, the player revealed that he made his intentions clear as far back as February and had always intended to move clubs this summer. "During the transfer window, meetings continued, and I also received a proposal from Ajax for contract renewal. I made it clear once again: I want to leave," Antony said. "Ajax refused with the argument that they only have five days to replace me." 

As such, the player now receives his wish and gets his move to the Premier League. However, while Ajax may now need to find a replacement with very little time left on the clock, they can at least take confidence in the fact that they’ve managed to received a truly remarkable sum of money for a player they signed for just €15.75m two years ago.