Jordi Cruyff says Barcelona pondered signing 25yo Man Utd flop before Raphinha deal
Former Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff has revealed that the La Liga club considered signing Antony from Ajax before purchasing Raphinha from Leeds United in 2022.
Antony had a good 2021/22 season with Ajax with 22 goal contributions. He was widely linked with Barcelona among other clubs before his move to Manchester United in late August.
Speaking on The Overlap, Cruyff disclosed that the Blaugrana wanted a winger after Lionel Messi’s exit and had to choose between Raphinha and Antony for the position.
The Catalan giants eventually opted to recruit Raphinha over his Brazilian compatriot. The club feared that they could not recoup their money if Antony flopped after arriving from the Eredivisie.
Cruyff said: “It was a very difficult time. We wanted a winger, and we had to choose between Raphinha and Antony. And you have a Fair Play issue. Of course, Anthony in the end went for much more money than anybody expected.”
“But we really had to make choices based on okay if he [Raphinha] succeeded in the Premier League and things go wrong, we will always get our money back so, we will always be able to send him back to the Premier League.
“We looked at both basically. Antony now is at Real Betis. He is doing a really good job and a special player, but back then we were thinking if we sign a player from Holland and things go wrong, you will never get your money back.”
Antony could have been Messi’s successor at Barcelona
Antony signed for the Red Devils from Ajax for a staggering £86 million. He scored in his first three league appearances and then went off the boil. The 25-year-old managed just 12 goals and five assists from 95 games for United before switching to La Liga.
The right-sided winger found his feet on loan at Real Betis during the back end of last season. He made 14 goal contributions from 26 appearances. He rejoined the Andalusian club permanently for just £25m last summer and has fared well with eight goals and four assists from 16 outings.
Raphinha, on the other hand, has proved a superb acquisition for Barcelona. He has bagged 58 goals and 54 assists from 156 appearances since his £55m move from Leeds. He finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or race last term after a sensational 2024/25 campaign for the Blaugrana.
Based on Antony’s success with Betis in Spain, he could have easily been Messi’s successor had Barcelona placed more faith in his ability. He has 26 goal involvements in just 42 matches for Betis, and could have been dubbed as the ‘new Messi’ if things had worked out differently.
Antony will only turn 26 in February and still has time on his hands to secure a bigger move elsewhere. Barcelona could return for him if Raphinha were to move in the near future.
The latter has been linked with Saudi clubs this year. United could benefit from a big-money sale, as they will receive 50 percent of any profit Betis make on Antony’s future transfer.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .