Did Antony disrespect Ajax with Man Utd transfer?

Karan Tejwani

Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
3 min read

Ajax CEO Edwin van der Sar has taken a swipe at the way in which winger Antony left the club to join Manchester United over the summer transfer window.

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Ajax rejected two bids from Manchester United before accepting the third, which was at a fee of around €100 million, making it the biggest transfer of the summer.

Antony was keen on the move but Ajax weren’t looking to sell unless their asking price was met, which meant the player refused to play for the Dutch club in his final weeks there.

READ: Man Utd's €100m star Antony shining thanks to Ronaldo

Now, Van der Sar has said that Antony could’ve handled the situation better and that he could’ve done with a further year of development in Amsterdam.

Van der Sar speaks on Antony departure

Speaking to The Times, Van der Sar said: “It was our opinion they should stay for another year. We gave a firm 'no' to Arsenal when they came first for Lisandro; we fought hard to keep him.

“It was [an] economic [decision] but it was a hard one to take. We knew there was interest but not at that level and it was too late to find a good replacement.

READ: Antony's start justifies Man Utd's long transfer pursuit

“I don't think the way [Antony] handled it was the correct one, but it's important all the players who leave Ajax have success because it reflects well on us.”

At Ajax, players are often encouraged to stay to help in their development, although, it has emerged recently that certain figures would be willing to force moves to move on in their careers.

Antony - 22/23 (so far)

{@antony00} pic.twitter.com/L8uPT5eUOl
— $K (@7uptwn) October 24, 2022

Antony has started well at Manchester United, scoring in his first three Premier League games with the club, but hasn’t netted since, after scoring in a win against Everton.

Improving on the right wing was a priority for coach Erik ten Hag, which is why he was looking to go all out to bring the Brazilian over to the club over the summer.