Antony came back to haunt former Manchester United teammate David de Gea for the second time after his stunning impact for Real Betis against Fiorentina.
The 25-year-old Brazilian winger has had a career resurgence away from Old Trafford after the Red Devils allowed Antony to leave in the January window.
Real Betis snapped up Antony from Manchester United in a loan deal and the La Liga club are covering the majority of the Red Devils winger’s wages during his spell.
Antony has become a key player for Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini and the United loanee has entered a rich vein of form during his six-month loan spell in Spain.
The former Ajax ace, who is under contract with United until 2027, has netted eight times and registered five assists in 21 matches for Spanish side Betis this season.
Antony has been met with criticism at United after the Red Devils brought the Brazil international to Old Trafford from Dutch side Ajax for an initial fee of £81.3m.
The ex-Ajax winger reunited with Erik ten Hag at the Red Devils in 2022, but Antony failed to replicate his form from the Dutch side at the Premier League club.
Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMan Utd loanee Antony speaks out after scoring against David de Gea in Fiorentina and Real Betis’ Conference League clash
Antony played alongside David de Gea at Old Trafford and the pair crossed paths with one another in the semi-finals of the 2024-25 Conference League campaign.
The Real Betis player scored past the Manchester United legend in the 2-1 first-leg Conference League semi-final win last Thursday at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Following on from Betis’ result against Fiorentina in Spain, Manuel Pellegrini’s men travelled to the Stadio Artemio Franchi for the return-leg encounter on Thursday.
Antony opened the scoring in the 2-2 draw after De Gea was unable to deny his former United teammate’s stunning free-kick in the 30th minute of the tie.
The Brazil and United winger took to social media and Antony shared a heartfelt message with Betis fans after the La Liga club reached the Conference League final.
Posting two heart emojis, Antony added in his Instagram post: “BETIS!”
Betis player Pablo Fornals was spotted in the comments and he wasted no time in making his feelings clear on Antony’s performance against Fiorentina.
“Iluminado,” he wrote, which means ‘enlightened’ in a rough translation from Portuguese to English.
Man Utd winger Antony could now lift major silverware with Real Betis after reaching the Conference League final
Betis are through to the final of the 2025 Conference League after knocking Fiorentina out of the semi-finals thanks to a 4-3 aggregate scoreline.
Pellegrini’s men will meet Premier League side Chelsea in the Conference League final on 28th May, which is held at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland.
Chelsea punched their ticket to the final of the Conference League after beating Swedish side Djurgardens IF across both legs of the semi-finals.
Antony’s long-term future at Old Trafford remains uncertain after the former Ajax player fell down the pecking order at United under manager Ruben Amorim.