Antony Matheus dos Santos (born 24 February 2000), popularly known as Antony, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United and the Brazil national team.
Antony
Personal information
Full name
Antony Matheus dos Santos
Date of birth :24 February 2000 (age 22)
Place of birth O; Brazil
Height :1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) : Winger
Club information
Current team
Manchester United
Number :21
Youth career :2010–2018
São Paulo
Senior career*
Years TeamApps
(Gls)
2018–2020
São Paulo
48(6)
2020–2022
Ajax
57(18)
2022–
Manchester United
1(1)
National team 2019–2021
Brazil U23
22(6)
2021–Brazil
9(2)
Men's football
Representing Brazil
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:31, 4 September 2022 (UTC)
National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:36, 21 June 2022 (UTC)
Antony is a graduate of São Paulo's youth system and scored six goals in 52 first-team appearances for the club. He joined Ajax in 2020, where he scored 25 goals in 82 games and won two Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup. After impressing with Ajax, Antony sparked the interest of Manchester United, who signed him in September 2022 for a transfer worth €95 million (£82 million), the most ever paid for a player leaving the Eredivisie.
Antony won a gold medal with the Brazil under-23 team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He scored on his senior international debut against Venezuela in October 2021.
Club Career
Born in Osasco, São Paulo, Antony joined the youth start up of São Paulo in 2010. In 2018, his team won the J League Challenge tournament in Japan and he was Awarded the best player of the tournament.[3]
On 26 September 2018, Antony along with Helinho and Igor Gomes were promoted to the senior team, and he signed a contract until September 2023. On 15 November, he made his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute for Helinho in a 1–1 draw against Grêmio.
Ajax
On 23 February 2020, Ajax signed Antony on a five-year deal, effective from 1 July 2020, for an initial £13 million, which could rise to £18.2 million. He made his debut for the club on 13 September 2020, scoring the only goal of an away win over Sparta Rotterdam.He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League on October 27, in a 2–2 draw against Atalanta, leaving the field in the 90th minute, following a collision with Ruslan Malinovskyi, before scoring his first goal in the competition on 3 November 2020, in a 2–1 away win over Midtjylland.
During the 2020–21 season, Antony competed with David Neres for a spot in the starting line-up, eventually winning his place, contribute to 46 appearances, and finishing the season with 11 goals and 10 assists, including a goal in the 3–1 defeat of Vitesse in the domestic cup final, helping Ajax win the domestic double of the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup.
The following season, despite the signings of Mohamed Daramy and Steven Berghuis, Antony kept his place in the starting line-up, and with his two goals and four assists against Sporting CP and Borussia Dortmund, Ajax became the first Dutch club to win all six Champions League group games in the competition's history. His three goals and one assist earned him the league's Player of the Month and and Talent of the Month award for December.
On 20 March, Antony scored a dramatic late winner in a 3–2 victory against De Klassieker rivals Feyenoord in Eredivisie, being five minutes into the added time, before being sent off, after receiving a second yellow card seconds later for time wasting. Nine days later, while on international duty for Brazil national team, during a World Cup qualification match, Antony suffered an ankle injury, which rulled him out for the remainder of the season
"I was very happy in Amsterdam, I won titles at Ajax, made friends and built part of my career, but now I reinforce that I am ready and full of motivation to follow my story and my dreams. People need to listen to me and understand that my motivation moves me towards happiness."
Antony on his decision to leave Ajax in an interview with Fabrizio Romano on 26 August 2022.
Following his return from injury against Fortuna Sittard on 6 August, the 2022–23 season was preceded by a dispute over the desire for Antony to leave Ajax. After Ajax rejected the interest expressed by Manchester United for Antony's service, including a €85 million transfer bid, he failed to turn up to training, being left out of the matchdays squads against Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht. In a interview, Antony revealed that he wanted to leave back in February, but he waited to the end of the summer window for the transfer to procede, rejecting a contract renewal from Ajax in order to "follow his dreams".
Manchester United
On 30 August 2022, Ajax confirmed they had reached an agreement with Manchester United for Antony's transfer. Two days later, Antony signed a five-year contract for a transfer fee of €95 million (£82 million), with a further €5 million (£4.27 million) in add-ons, the third highest transfer fee ever paid by the club after Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku and this was Ajax's and the Eredivisie's biggest transfer ever Upon his arrival to the club he was handed the number 21 shirt previously worn by Edinson Cavani, who had recently departed the club. He scored on his debut for the club in a 3–1 home league victory over rivals Arsenal.
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