Antony Reveals Liverpool Bid and Klopp's Call as Salah Replacement Plan

Antony’s Manchester United story has been picked apart for two years. The fee, the form, the fit. Now the Brazilian has added a twist of his own: he says he could have walked into Anfield as Mohamed Salah’s potential successor instead.

Speaking to ESPN Brazil, the winger, now rebuilding his career at Real Betis, recalled the summer of 2022 and the tug-of-war for his signature while he was still lighting up Ajax under Erik ten Hag.

At the time, United’s interest was no secret. Ten Hag wanted one of his Amsterdam lieutenants to follow him to Old Trafford, and the club eventually paid around £82 million to get him. What stayed in the shadows, Antony claims, was how close Liverpool came.

“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.”

That line captures the crossroads. On one side, Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp, quietly preparing for the possibility that their talisman might walk away while contract talks dragged on. On the other, United, desperate to give Ten Hag a trusted wide forward and a statement signing.

Liverpool’s interest, as Antony tells it, was not a passing enquiry. He describes a “proposal” and a scenario in which Klopp was actively scouring the market in case Salah’s negotiations broke down. The Egyptian, already a modern Anfield great, was deep in discussions over a new deal, his future briefly clouded by uncertainty.

The contingency plan never had to be activated. Salah stayed. He signed fresh terms, remained the heartbeat of Klopp’s attack and continued to stack up numbers that would define an era.

Viewed from today, the sliding-doors element is stark. Salah went on to spend another four years on Merseyside, adding a second Premier League title to his collection and finishing with 257 goals in 442 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool. This season brought signs of decline — just 12 goals in 41 matches — but the body of work is already carved into club history.

Antony, by contrast, never came close to justifying his transfer fee at United. Flashes of quality never hardened into consistency. The goals dried up, the confidence ebbed, and the scrutiny intensified. Last summer, he left Old Trafford permanently, his time there remembered as much for the debate as for anything he produced on the pitch.

Now at Betis, he has finally found rhythm again. Fourteen goals and 10 assists in 46 games across all competitions this season have restored some of the shine that persuaded United to spend so heavily in the first place. In Spain, he looks like a player enjoying his football again.

He also looks like a man keen to draw a line under his Manchester chapter, even as he hints at the atmosphere that greeted him behind the scenes.

“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.”

It is a revealing glimpse into a dressing room dynamic that clearly left a mark. Not explosive, but pointed enough to suggest a player who never truly felt at home in Manchester.

For Liverpool, Antony’s account underlines just how seriously they were planning for life after Salah, even if that future never arrived. For United, it is another reminder of how a marquee signing, landed ahead of a direct rival, turned into a cautionary tale.

Antony chose the badge he says “carries weight.” The irony is that his career is finally lifting again far from either Old Trafford or Anfield, under the Andalusian sun.