Antony ‘launches legal action’ against Ajax over unsavoury Manchester United transfer
Today at 01:30 PM
Antony has reportedly filed an arbitration case against former club Ajax over fines imposed during his move to Manchester United.
The Brazilian winger and Eredivisie giants faced each other in court last Monday in Zeist in the Netherlands, the Dutch Football Association [KNVB] have confirmed.
Antony became unavailable for selection in the summer of 2022 as he held out for a mega move to the Premier League.
Ajax allegedly withheld hundreds of thousands of pounds of unpaid salary, which Antony believes was unlawful.
At the time Antony reportedly skipped a number of training sessions before missing an Eredivisie game against Sparta Rotterdam despite not being injured.
Ajax are of the opinion that Antony was absent without permission during that period and that they were within their rights to fine him three times, deducting that money from his salary.
AD claim that the dispute has been ongoing ever since he left the club, and that the 24-year-old met with the arbitration committee six months ago to fix this January date.
Rulings usually take around a month.
It was also claimed that United bid £51million and £67m before Ajax eventually accepted a staggering £85m for a player who had only spent two seasons in Europe, both outside a big five league.
Speaking during the saga, then head coach Alfred Schreuder said: “That’s an absurd amount of money.
"Whether we can also refuse a higher offer, that’s not up to me.
“Then you have to be with the management of the club."
Schreuder's assessment proved to be prescient, with Antony widely considered to be one of the worst value big money transfers in Premier League history.
Across three seasons at Old Trafford he's recorded 12 goals and five assists in 94 games as opposed to the 21 goals and 19 assists in 74 games at Ajax.
From six Premier League outings this term, Antony is yet to chip in with a goal involvement.
He has regularly been linked with a move over the past transfer windows, with a January switch to Greek side Olympiacos mooted.
Antony's move saw him follow Erik ten Hag from Amsterdam to Manchester, but rather incredibly he wasn't the only one.
The club heavily invested in the Dutchman's former players, backing him to also sign Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui, Andre Onana and Matthijs de Ligt before his departure at the start of the current campaign.
