Manchester United winger Antony has enjoyed a good start to life at Old Trafford. The 22-year-old became the first United player to score in his first three Premier League appearances earlier this season.
Antony made the move from Brazil to Europe in 2020 when Erik ten Hag signed him for Ajax and since then, he has taken the continent by storm.
United made him one of their most expensive signings of all time this summer and you can already see why. He has, however, been criticised for showboating, with his signature pirouette move rubbing some pundits the wrong way.
Speaking ahead of this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, where Antony will be aiming to help Brazil to their first title since 2002, the fearless attacker has fired back at the experts as he draws parallels to his upbringing.
“I went from the slums to Ajax to Manchester United in three years,” Antony wrote in The Players Tribune. “People always ask me how I was able to “turn the key” so quickly. Honestly, it is because I feel no pressure on a football pitch. No fear. Fear? What is fear?
“When you grow up having to jump over dead bodies just to make it to school, you cannot be scared of anything in football. The things that I have seen, most football pundits can only imagine. There are things you cannot unsee.
“But in football? With a ball at your feet, you should only feel joy. I was born a dribbler. It is part of my roots. It is the gift that took me from the slums to the Theatre of Dreams.
“I will never change the way I play, because it is not a style, it is me. It is a part of me. A part of our story as Brazilians. If you just watch one 10 second clip of me, then you will not understand.
“Nothing I do is a joke. Everything has a purpose. To go forward with boldness, to strike fear into the opponent, to create space, to make a difference for my team.”
Antony reached the summit of European football by playing the way he has taught himself to do and it would be borderline criminal to coach it out of him.
Fortunately, the experts on TV are not coaching him and Ten Hag, having already worked with him for the better part of three years, knows exactly what he’s doing.
