Antony's agent bites back at Ruben Amorim's assessment of Man Utd struggles
- Antony left Man Utd on loan in January
- Amorim claimed winger's success with Real Betis is due to La Liga's lower physicality
- Agent laughs off 'superficial' claims from Man Utd head coach
By Tom Gott
The agent of Manchester United winger Antony has insisted he "completely disagrees" with Ruben Amorim's assessment of his struggles at Old Trafford.
Antony left United on loan in January to join Real Betis, where a dazzling start has yielded three goals and two assists in seven games - form which Amorim attributed to the typically lower physicality of La Liga.
MARCA spoke to Antony's agent, Junior Pedroso, about Amorim's argument, and the Brazilian's representative offered a frustrated response.
"We respect the opinion of coach Ruben Amorim, but we completely disagree with his analysis," Pedroso said. "To attribute Antony's lack of success at Manchester United solely to the question of physicality is a very superficial argument and does not reflect reality.
"The truth is that Antony has not had enough prominence or the confidence necessary to play his best football. Of the 15 games in which Amorim managed Manchester United, he only used Antony in nine, with a total of 252 minutes played. This represents only 18.6% of the total possible minutes. How can you judge an athlete without a minimum sequence to prove his worth?"
Instead, Pedroso argued Antony's upturn in form was due to finding a coach prepared to give the 25-year-old the tools needed to succeed.
"The manager's statement, although perhaps it was not his intention, ends up devaluing La Liga and the Spanish competitions," the agent continued. "Spanish football has one of the most competitive leagues in the world, with top-level teams that constantly compete in the final stages of the Champions League and the Europa League.
"The reality is that Antony, since he arrived at Real Betis, has become one of the best players in the team and in the competition itself, demonstrating his full potential when given the right conditions to develop his game. This highlights that the problem was not the physicality, but the context and the way he was managed in Manchester. Many players who do not prosper at United find success at other clubs, which leads us to wonder if the problem really lies with the players."
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