How wild was Bayern Munich’s transfer deadline day? The Bavarians almost ended up with former Manchester United winger Antony.
The 25-year-old is moving permanently to LaLiga side Real Betis on a reported €22M deal after spending the past half-season there on loan. But Bayern, with its Nicolas Jackson deal hanging in the balance, apparently attempted to hijack the deal. It might have succeeded, too, had the Brazilian forward decided that simply being able to was enough.
Via El Partidazo de COPE, as
captured by @iMiaSanMia:
Bayern have contacted Antony before he signed for Real Betis and offered him double the salary, but the Brazilian decided to keep his word and join the Spanish side.
“I spoke to Bayern Munich the day before everything was done with Betis. I don’t know if it [the offer] was seven million [net], I didn’t talk about that,” Antony is quoted as saying. “But when I spoke with them, I said I gave my word to Betis, and that everything was 95% finalized, and I’ll stick to my word. Out of respect, affection, and knowing that I’m happy here. I feel calm about making this decision with all due respect to Bayern Munich, a top three club in the world. I don’t know what will happen in the future.”
Now that is a stance that deserves respect. From a Bayern perspective, though, one wonders: could the Bavarians have done that within their ‘only loan’ policy?
