The Brazilian had a rapid rise from a Sao Paulo favela to a £85m transfer to Old Trafford but his career has been put on hold by serious allegations
Erik ten Hag and Manchester United put huge faith in Antony. At the request of the manager, who had worked with the Brazilian winger for two years at Ajax and won consecutive league titles with him, United paid a staggering £85 million ($106m) to sign him in August 2022. The fee made Antony the club's second-most expensive player of all time, only trailing Paul Pogba.
And unlike Pogba, United were not paying for a world star coveted by Europe's top clubs at the time, they were paying for potential. By most measures, Antony did not fulfill that potential in an underwhelming and frustrating first season at Old Trafford.
Then his future at the club was cast into doubt after it was announced was taking a period of absence to address allegations of assault made by multiple women. Antony denies all the allegations made against him.
The claims, first made by ex-girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin and then followed by accusations from two more women, have shocked the football world and given United yet another desperately uncomfortable situation to deal with just weeks after being fiercely criticised for their handling of the Mason Greenwood case.
However, Antony was given a way back when United announced they were reintegrating him into the squad, meaning he will resume full training and will be available for selection.
GOAL charts Antony's career from growing up alongside gangsters and guns in a Sao Paulo favela to his moves to Ajax and United, his success with Brazil to the allegations that threaten to derail his career…
GettyGrowing up in 'Little Hell'
Antony hails from a favela in Sao Paulo known as Inferninho, which translates as 'Little Hell'. Antony lifted the lid on his traumatic upbringing in the favela in an interview with in 2022, detailing his experience of living side-by-side with gangsters and drug dealers and growing up in dire poverty.
"If you really want to understand me as a person, then you must understand where I am from. My history. My roots. Inferninho," he said. "It is an infamous place. Fifteen steps from our front door, there were always drug dealers doing their business, passing stuff hand-to-hand. The smell was constantly outside our window."
Antony's house was so small that he not only shared a room with his parents until he was a teenager – he shared a bed with them.
AdvertisementGetty Guns and walking over a dead body
For Antony, gun violence and police raids were nothing out of the norm. "We were so used to seeing guns that it was not even scary. They were just a part of everyday life," he told .
"We were more scared of the police knocking down our door. One time, they invaded our house looking for someone and they came running in screaming. They found nothing, of course. But when you’re so young, those moments mark you."
He also recalled coming across a dead body on his way to school as a child. "In the favela, you become kind of numb to these things," he added. "There was no other way to go, and I had to get to school. So, I just closed my eyes and jumped over the dead body."
Getty Doing tricks against gangsters
Antony's escape from the horrors of his local area was the football matches he would play with his brother with the other residents of the favela. With no money for boots he would play "barefoot, on bleeding feet".
"I was small, but I dribbled with a meanness that came from God. Dribbling was always something inside me. It was a natural instinct. And I refused to bow my head to anyone," he recalled.
"I would elastico the drug dealers. Rainbow the bus drivers. Nutmeg the thieves. I really did not give a f*ck. With a ball at my feet, I had no fear."
GettyA big opportunity & Range Rover dreams
Antony got his big break after being discovered by the director of futsal team Gremio Barueri. The director was watching a match in the Inferinho favela and Antony, aged eight at the time, stood out for his daring style of play, pulling off tricks against the adults, many of whom were feared gangsters.
After taking this first small step towards becoming a footballer and idolising Ronaldinho from watching Youtube clips on his neighbour's WIFI, Antony promised his mother he would become a professional footballer and would buy a red Range Rover. He went on to fulfill both pledges.
