Former Groningen general manager Hans Nijland has slammed Manchester United winger Antony over the way he forced his exit from Ajax this summer.
The Red Devils spent the majority of the summer chasing the Brazil international's signature. Antony also affirmed his desire to leave the club by skipping training sessions last month.
The Dutch giants eventually accepted a huge fee of €98.10 million for the winger.
Speaking on the Voetbal Primeur's #Donedeal podcast, Nijland expressed his unhappiness at the player forcing his exit in such a manner.
"We all understand that players can earn a lot more money at Manchester United than at Ajax, but you signed a contract with your full mind. The club has every right to hold you to it. Don’t forget the influence of agents, huh."
Antony's personal agent, Junior Pedroso, is believed to have brokered the deal that saw the player join Manchester United. However, Forza Sports Group, owned by Revien Kanhai, claim that they are the ones who made the transfer happen.
The payment that the responsible agency will receive for conducting the move is €23.08 million, and the player has responded to the ongoing confusion. With such a huge sum of money involved, it is not rare to see agents trying to force transfers for their own personal interest.
Nijland brought up this point and added:
"As an agent, you only need one Antony and you are a millionaire, it’s that simple. The pressure is huge, but I think it’s very unprofessional from players. I don’t understand it at all."
Ajax manager claims Antony is not worth the fee Manchester United paid for him
Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder has voiced his frustrations at Antony's transfer saga multiple times this summer. The Dutch boss eventually saw his star winger join Manchester United after the winger went on strike to force a move.
Speaking to reporters before the Brazilian winger's move to United, Schreuder commented on the bloated transfer fees for players in modern football.
Citing Ousmane Dembele and Jadon Sancho's examples, Schreuder claimed that teams could pay the same amount in transfer fees for Antony as well. Clubbing the trio together, he commented that they are not worth the nine-figure transfer fees that have been quoted for them.
He told Ziggo Sport (h/t MEN):
"Today, the amounts are crazy. Barcelona paid €115million for [Ousmane] Dembele, Manchester United also paid more than €100million for [Jadon] Sancho. Then you can pay that for him [Antony] too. Are the players worth it? No. But it will be paid."
If his debut is anything to go by, Antony is destined for a great career at Old Trafford. The former Sao Paulo winger scored for the Red Devils against Arsenal in their 3-1 win before being taken off in the 58th minute.