Since joining Real Betis, Antony has gone from zero to hero to verging on club icon, with the chance to put his name into the record books at the Spanish club.
What a four months Antony has had over in Spain as he has completely revived his faltering career.
When he departed Old Trafford, there was concern around Manchester United that Antony would fail and therefore be in an even worse position upon his return this summer.
Despite this, he left the club as an expendable spare part at United, who was only used sparingly this season.
But for Betis, Antony has been a superstar with eight goals and five assists in 21 games this season, which is an impressive record. This includes an incredible free-kick goal scored by Antony against David de Gea in the UEFA Conference League semi-final.
Speaking this week, Antony says moving to Betis is one of his best decisions, and he has now been living it up over in Seville as Betis and their fans celebrate reaching the Conference League final with a clash against Chelsea awaiting them.
Real Betis fans send clear message to Antony after Conference League semi-final heroics
Betis overcame Fiorentina in the Conference League semi-final to shoot themselves into a first-ever European final, and so celebrations are rightfully rampant in the city.
Now, the Betis squad have been having a party to celebrate in front of their fans, on a balcony in which Antony was in the spotlight as the centre of attention with his teammates and fans all chanting one thing at him.
Spanish journalist Daniel Saldana was at these celebrations, in which he took a video that revealed the chant Betis were singing to Antony.
“Antonio, quedate”, rang out with his teammates all joining in, which roughly translates to “Antony, stay” which as clear of a message as they could send to the Brazilian.
If Antony leads Betis to a win against Chelsea, he will forever be a legend at the club, and in an ideal world, United should be keen to sell him to Betis, despite the La Liga side not being a financial giant. United are asking for £42m to sell which is likely above their price range.
Real Betis describe Antony as being the greatest of all time
If Antony joined Betis permanently, it could become his club, and he could end up with a key to the city of Seville, having become an icon inside of half a season.
In a newly dropped angle of his sensational free-kick against Fiorentina, the Betis X account captioned the goal, “The GOAT [greatest of all time] doing GOAT things”.
This is high praise for Antony, who will feel like he is dreaming to have gone from his role at United to now the superstar of a team in a major European final, and he may very well be the GOAT in Betis’ history.
As incredible as he has been, Antony’s next challenge is his biggest. Scoring and shining against Chelsea would show he can perform against Premier League opposition, perhaps tempting United to reconsider selling.
But, for all, Antony should leave this summer.
