How Glazer family left Antony sweating on €25m Man Utd exit - with Real Betis return rushed through before transfer deadline

Having impressed on loan in Andalusia last season, Brazil international Antony made it clear from the start of the last window that his preference was to head back to familiar surroundings in 2025-26.

United’s demands for a player they signed for £85m ($115m) initially made talks difficult, with Betis unable to part with the kind of fee that Premier League heavyweights were looking for - despite Antony tumbling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

An agreement was eventually reached just before the deadline, allowing the 25-year-old winger to leave England on a permanent basis, with that transfer being signed off by an ownership team in America as the window began to swing shut.

Alcaron has told ABC Sevilla of finally getting a move for Antony over the line: “There was a moment when we saw it was lost because United’s position was difficult. We had a difference of €5-6m and had already reached our limit. In the end, we all made an effort, we did our part, and so did the player and United.

“On Sunday, during the match against Athletic, the relationship was very tense. Around noon, United sent the draft contract and asked us to make the changes. It was clear that they were going to comply with our requests.

“In the early hours of Sunday morning, at 2am, we received confirmation. In the morning, we closed the accounting for Antony’s future capital gains because we wanted to have the ability to recover the investment. It was one of the most problematic points, but we resolved it.

“Sunday at 2am is when the situation was unblocked, and we started looking for a plane so he could come on Monday afternoon. There was still a bit of stress because everything was agreed upon, but we had to wait for the Manchester United owners in the United States to sign, and they did so at 3pm on Monday.”

While United ultimately relented in their demands, there are a number of potential add-ons included in Antony’s deal and the Red Devils stand to benefit in future windows from a 50 per cent sell-on clause.