Man Utd's Antony transfer fee ‘madness’ compared to Raphinha and Jesus

Suraj Radia

11 Mar 2023 16:39 GMT
2 min read

PSV director of football Marcel Brands has described the fee Manchester United paid for Antony as ‘madness’ and believes the club could have had better value by signing Raphinha or Gabriel Jesus.

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United signed Antony from Ajax on deadline day last summer for €100 million and the Brazilian has endured a mixed season so far, grabbing seven goals but failing to score in the Premier League since October, when he netted in his first three games in the competition.

Raphinha, meanwhile, joined Barcelona for €65m while Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City for €50m, with both players producing at a similar level to Antony at a fraction of the cost.

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Brands was speaking on Dutch TV about the €50m fee that PSV received for Cody Gakpo from Liverpool and insisted Antony’s fee was a ‘madness’ in comparison.

"If you compare it with transfers that were realistic, such as that of Gabriel Jesus, that was also around that rate. Those are normal amounts,” Brands told BNR.

“I think everyone in football knows that Antony was a madness. I think Raphinha is an even better player than Antony, but he left for much less.”

PSV ‘could not stop’ Gakpo departure

Brands also addressed PSV’s decisions to sell both Gakpo and Noni Madueke to Premier League sides in January, insisting that the finances involved meant that the club was left with little choice.

"Of course it was a financial issue,” Brands said. “But on the other hand you also have to be realistic. If Liverpool come for Gakpo and promises have been made, you can't stop that.

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“Madueke was not planned and not expected, but it came a lot of money on the table and it was Chelsea. That's when we made that choice."

PSV received €35m for Madueke from Chelsea, where he has made just two starts so far, while Gakpo has netted four goals in his last seven games for Liverpool, having failed to score in his first six matches previously.