Real Betis boss reveals why Antony has shone since leaving Man Utd

Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini has hailed Antony’s attitude since joining on loan from Manchester United, with the winger in sparkling form in Spain. The 24-year-old has made a great start to his short-term move, scoring two goals in his first three La Liga outings and three in four across all competitions.

The Brazilian is quickly becoming a fan favourite at Betis having scored in back-to-back 3-0 victories over Gent in the Europa Conference League and Real Sociedad in La Liga. Former Manchester City and West Ham boss Pellegrini is clearly getting a lot more out of him than Erik ten Hag or Ruben Amorim managed to at Old Trafford.

The Chilean says he does not know why Antony flopped in the Premier League after his £82m move from Ajax, but has been impressed by his attitude, just needing to be reminded to keep things simple and not over-play. ‘The most important thing has been his attitude and his self-criticism,’ said Pellegrini of Antony. ‘If they paid that much for him it is because he is a player of a great level, who for reasons that I do not know could not perform as expected at Manchester United.

‘I have spoken a lot with him to keep him calm, without wanting to show great things , but to keep it simple. ‘He is a great player who does important things for the team and I hope he continues at that level until the end of the season because he will help us a lot.’.

The player is clearly enjoying himself much more with Betis than he was with the Red Devils, having failed to make a Premier League start this season before his January exit. While the loan deal only runs until the end of the season, it sounds like the Brazil international would be open to making it permanent if an agreement could be reached between the clubs.

In an interview with Betis’ in-house media channel this week, Antony claims Spain’s climate has helped a lot following his move and says that he ‘wakes up every day with a smile’ since leaving United. ‘The most important thing is that I have found myself again,’ Antony said.

‘I am happy to be enjoying myself every day. Things go well when we are well, happy, content… in four games I scored three goals and gave an assist. I expected it and I didn’t expect it. ‘I have worked mentally and physically to get to this moment. I am very happy about that. When I was in England I continued working mentally and physically I was also feeling well. I was preparing for this moment. Now, I am very happy to be enjoying and living an incredible moment.

‘I wasn’t playing much, but I’ve been working hard. I needed to be happy with myself. The best version of being happy with myself is the most important thing. I played very little in Manchester, but I’m grateful to them and also to the coach, who spoke to me.

‘I have a lot of friends who played here and they left me very calm so that I could sign here. I was sure in my heart that coming here was the best decision for me. I hope to continue like this. The players who have been here, like Ricardo Oliveira and Denilson, who sent me messages and told me how good the fans were.

‘I’ve had a great time in Manchester too, I won two titles and I’m very grateful. But when I say that I’ve found myself here, I’m happy, the people are like us in Brazil. ‘The sun helps a lot. I’m very happy here. I wake up every day with a smile and that’s very important.’.

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