Antony police investigations threaten Man Utd hopes to sell £85m flop
The ongoing police investigations surrounding Manchester United winger Antony could scupper any moves the club make to sell the Brazil international this summer.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Sao Paulo Civil Police are still probing the assault allegations against Antony made by his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, which the player strenuously denies.
United are understood to be open to selling Antony this summer, though they are not thought to be actively looking to push the £85.5 million winger out of the door at this stage.
That could change depending on what happens with the future of manager Erik ten Hag, who pushed hard to sign Antony from Ajax in September 2022, only for the 24-year-old to fall well short of expectations.
Even if United resolve to cut their losses on Antony, though, sources have indicated the assault allegations against him present a major obstacle to a potential sale this summer — unless the case is dropped or the player is cleared before then.
Antony and his representatives — who have long maintained his innocence and vowed to fight to clear his name — are convinced he has no case to answer and that the player will be vindicated.
Cavallin, a DJ and influencer, has claimed she was assaulted by Antony on a number of occasions in Brazil and the UK between June 2022 and May last year.
She was interviewed by GMP last October, weeks after Antony voluntarily attended an interview with GMP when he was not arrested and free to go home afterwards with no bail restrictions.
If United were able to move Antony on, they would likely have to accept a huge hit on their £85.5 million outlay, which made him the second most expensive signing in the club’s history and the 13th costliest player ever at the time.
The Brazilian, who last started a Premier League game on Dec 30, has managed just one goal and an assist since May — and they were both in an FA Cup tie against League Two side Newport County.
Ten Hag says the allegations against Antony had an impact on the player’s form earlier in the season but insisted last month he had to “step up” and start delivering.
Academy graduate Omari Forson was picked to start over him in the 2-1 defeat by Fulham last month, when Antony was not introduced until the 99th minute.
Antony, for his part, has vowed to prove his critics wrong and show why he was brought to Old Trafford.
The future of another controversial forward, Mason Greenwood, is likely to have a significant bearing on the squad’s reshaping.
Greenwood has impressed on loan at Getafe and a number of clubs in Spain and elsewhere on the continent are understood to be weighing up moves for the 22-year-old, amid the prospect of a permanent £45 million transfer this summer.
Getafe would like to keep Greenwood but his £75,000-a-week wages are an obstacle while Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are among those linked with moves.
Any prospective sale would represent pure profit on the books given Greenwood’s status as an academy graduate, significantly boosting the club’s summer transfer kitty.
John Murtough, United’s existing football director, and the club’s director of football negotiations, Matt Hargreaves, had lunch with Barcelona sporting director Deco in Spain on Monday, fuelling rumours of the Catalan club exploring a move for Greenwood.
Yet the United pair also met with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid officials in the Spanish capital this week and were in Italy the previous weekend and accompanied to all those meetings by Frank Trimboli and Federico Massai from the influential Base agency. Sources said the meetings were with a view to exchanging ideas and information rather than having a specific Greenwood focus to them.
With United still to agree a compensation package with Newcastle for Dan Ashworth to take over as sporting director and Ineos waiting to make other key appointments in recruitment, Murtough and Hargreaves are continuing to fact-find ahead of the summer window.
Ratcliffe appeared to keep the door marginally ajar for Greenwood to return to United’s squad when he said last month that the club needed to fully appraise the situation and make a decision accordingly. But a sale is still the more likely scenario as things stand.
Greenwood, who has not played for United since Jan 2022, had charges of attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service last year.
Meanwhile, Lisandro Martínez is targeting the Brentford game on March 30 for a potential return from a foot injury that has sidelined him for the last five weeks, although he will not be rushed back.
Martinez has been named in Argentina’s squad for their friendlies against El Salvador and Costa Rica during the international break but will not feature in the matches as he finalises his recovery.
