Antony has revealed that he turned down an offer from Vincent Kompany to join Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day from Manchester United this summer.
The Brazilian instead opted to join LaLiga side Real Betis, who he had enjoyed a successful loan with the previous season - scoring nine goals in 26 games under the guidance of Manuel Pellegrini.
The 25-year-old became a fan favourite at Betis after being exiled by United boss Ruben Amorim. He was part of the group forced to train separately alongside Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho - which became known as the 'bomb squad' - and who have also all moved elsewhere.
Despite his positive form in Spain, Amorim remained committed to seeing the £86million player out the door.
And Antony has now described how his head was almost turned at the eleventh hour by the Bundesliga giants and Kompany - only for him to sign for Betis for less than a quarter of what United paid for him in 2023 for £21.6million.
'I'm going to be completely honest with you right now, it really shook me up,' Antony told Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte. 'We're talking about a global giant, Bayern Munich, where there is a coach with that kind of history.
'Vincent Kompany called me and we had a conversation. He was super polite to me, said he always really liked my football, and this was at 11pm (on deadline day), a little after 11pm.
'Whether I wanted to or not, it really affected me because of the greatness of the club, the greatness of the coach and the way he approached me, the way he talked to me.'
The winger admitted that his desire to prioritise his family was a motivating factor in turning down the chance to join Harry Kane and Co.
'What weighed heavily on my decision was that I'm a family, man. It's about looking out for my children. Lorenzo (his son) loves this place, loves this city (Seville). When we were on vacation in Brazil, without knowing anything, he always asked, "Dad, when are we going back to Spain?".'
Antony, who broke down in tears at his unveiling in September, insists that there is no bad blood with his former club.
'I don't hold any grudges, I'm not angry at anyone there,' he said.
'This serves as a great learning experience for me to know how to fight with the right weapons and with wisdom when faced with certain situations because that's part of life, it's part of the process.
'I'm also very grateful to Manchester United because I didn't only experience bad moments, but I also had some good moments there, with people I met who were also great. Now I'm here at Betis, Manchester was a very good experience and I'm very happy to be here at Betis.'
Antony will go down as one of Manchester United's biggest flops having scored just 12 goals in 96 games during his three years at Old Trafford. He was signed by his former boss Erik ten Hag in 2023 after working with him at Ajax.
He netted one goal in 14 games during the first half of last season, failing to impress Amorim when he was appointed last November. He was shipped out to Spain in January where he thrived at the club he has now made his permanent home.
This season he has scored six goals in 11 appearances in all competitions for the LaLiga side, including two assists.