New Delhi, May 26 (IANS) Brazilian winger Antony broke down to tears while reflecting on his tenure at Manchester United and revealed a conversation he had with his brother in which he stated ‘I could not take it anymore’.

Antony is now with Real Betis, on loan from Man Utd, and is gearing up for the UEFA Europa Conference League final clash against Chelsea on Thursday.

“It changed a lot because I needed to find myself, because of everything I went through in my personal life. As I said, I wanted to do things, but they didn’t seem to work out because I wasn’t happy, I didn’t feel that desire to play football, and I needed to find myself and be happy again because playing football was always something I loved.

“I went through difficult times [at Manchester United] when I no longer felt that pleasure. I even always told my brother, I told him that I couldn’t take it anymore.’ He told me to hold on a little longer, that things were going to change . It even made me emotional, because they were very hard days for me,’ Antony said to TNT Brazil.

The 24-year-old Antony joined Manchester United in 2022 from Dutch giants Ajax for a whopping fee of 95 million Euros but failed to make any significant impact at the club. In his 96 appearances for the Red Devils, Antony only managed to find the back of the net on 12 occasions.

His underwhelming output saw him leave the club on a loan deal in the January transfer window, which will come to an end in June.

He has since turned the cards on his career having scored nine goals and provided five assists in 25 appearances for the Spanish team. He has also scored four goals and dished out three assists in the UECL, including a free-kick goal against Fiorentina in the semi-finals.

“Only I know what it was like to be there at home, not having the strength to even play with my son, going days without eating, staying locked in my room.

“So, for me it was very complicated, but thank God, with the help of my family and mainly with the help of God, I managed to get ahead and today I am very happy here,” he added.

–IANS

aaa/