Antony Reveals Liverpool Bid and Klopp's Call Amid Salah Uncertainty

Antony’s Manchester United story has been pulled apart often enough. The fee. The output. The fit. Now the Brazilian has added a twist of his own: he says he could easily have ended up at Anfield, drafted in as Liverpool’s insurance policy for a potentially departing Mohamed Salah.

Speaking to ESPN Brazil, the winger – now rebuilding his reputation at Real Betis – looked back on the summer of 2022 and the scramble for his signature while he was lighting up Ajax under Erik ten Hag.

At the time, United’s interest was no secret. Ten Hag wanted his former wide man, United were desperate for an attacking spark, and the window ended with an £82m move to Old Trafford. What had remained in the background, Antony now claims, was a parallel push from Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp.

“When I went to Manchester United, I had a proposal from Liverpool, from Klopp, on the table,” he said. “It was also very good. Salah was negotiating a departure, but he ended up staying. Then the manager called me. The name of Manchester United carries weight.”

For Liverpool, that period was defined by tension around Salah’s contract. The club’s talisman was locked in talks over his future, his long-term commitment not yet secured. Behind the scenes, according to Antony, Liverpool were preparing for the worst-case scenario, drawing up contingency plans in case their No.11 walked away.

The Brazilian says that is when Klopp and Liverpool moved. A firm offer. A clear route into one of Europe’s most ruthless forward lines. A very different career path.

Salah stayed. Liverpool tied him down. The conversation changed.

United, meanwhile, pushed their chips to the middle of the table. Ten Hag got his man, Ajax got their money, and Antony arrived at Old Trafford as one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history, tasked with justifying a fee that would follow him into every stadium, every press conference, every debate.

The contrast since then has been stark.

Salah went on to cement his status as a modern Liverpool great, adding another Premier League title and continuing to carry the attack. He amassed 257 goals in 442 appearances in all competitions for the club, a remarkable body of work that defined an era at Anfield. This season, though, has hinted at a slowing rhythm: 12 goals in 41 games, a drop from his usual relentless numbers.

Antony, by comparison, never truly escaped the shadow of that price tag in Manchester. Flashes of quality, yes, but never the sustained influence United had paid for. The move ended last summer with a permanent exit to Real Betis, his Old Trafford chapter closed and dissected from all angles.

In Spain, he has looked more like the player Ten Hag once trusted at Ajax. Fourteen goals and ten assists in 46 appearances across all competitions have given him a new platform and a fresh audience, far from the Premier League glare.

The Brazilian, though, has not forgotten how his time in Manchester felt off the pitch as well as on it.

“Look, I'm not the kind of guy who gets involved in controversies, who names people, in fact, I won't mention anyone's name here,” he told ESPN Brazil. “But I think there was a bit of a lack of respect there, even a bit of rudeness too, with no one giving you a good morning, a good afternoon.

“Not even that. But, anyway, that's in the past, I won't give much importance to these things. Now I'm here, at Betis, I'm living here, that's the most important thing for me.”

His words land differently with the benefit of hindsight. Liverpool kept Salah and extended a golden era. United took the gamble on Antony and never saw the version of him that now excites Betis fans on a weekly basis.

One phone call swung it. One contract signature closed a door. The winger who might have been Liverpool’s solution to a Salah exit instead became the symbol of United’s costly miscalculation – and is now trying to write a very different story in Seville.