REAL BETIS coach Manuel Pellegrini said Brazil winger Antony wanted “revenge“ when he arrived in Spain after flopping at Manchester United as their team prepared for Wednesday’s UEFA Conference League final against Chelsea.
Antony joined the Liga side on loan in January and has roared back to form, scoring nine times and providing five assists in 25 games.
The 25-year-old became the second-most expensive player in United’s history when he joined from Ajax in 2022 for £81.3 million ($110 million), but he failed to live up to his price tag.
The winger scored just once for United this season before his Spain switch.
Antony told TNT Sports Brazil ahead of the Conference League showdown in Wroclaw that at one stage he was so miserable he went “days without eating”.
“I told (my brother) that I couldn’t take it any more,“ he said.
Betis boss Pellegrini told his pre-match press conference in Poland on Tuesday that he was proud of his role in Antony’s revival but praised the forward, who has scored some spectacular goals in Spain.
“I think that Anthony did all that he could to do,“ he said.
“I spoke with him before he came to Betis. He told me that he was not playing because he was not happy.
“Also, he wanted revenge. Here in Betis, I think that he did it in the way we know that he can.”
Former Real Madrid and Manchester City boss Pellegrini said it was not easy to play with the pressure of such a huge price tag.
“Antony is a very good player. I am absolutely sure that this is a huge time he had in Betis to continue improving his career.”
Two-time European champions Chelsea have been been favourites to win the continent’s third-tier club competition since the start of the season.
But Pellegrini, 71, backed his team, who finished sixth in La Liga and are playing in their first European final.
“We don’t believe it is David and Goliath,“ he said. “I think tomorrow we will have exactly the same opportunity to win the match.”
The Chilean admitted that early in the competition he had predicted he would meet Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, his former assistant at West Ham, in the final.
“I sent a very short message when we started in the group stage, telling him that I saw us in Poland in the final, and when we both arrived, I also sent a message to tell him how happy I was to play the final against him,“ he said.
