Antony, a star at Manchester United, has talked about how hard it was to grow up in Brazil. He said that as a child, he didn’t even have his bedroom or football boots.
Antony, who is 23, moved to Manchester United for a huge £85.5 million on the last day of the transfer window.
When he moved from Ajax to United two weeks ago, he became the most expensive player to sign this summer.
But the player recently said that his hard childhood was nothing like the “dream” life he now lives.
Growing up, he and his family lived in a poor neighborhood called a slum in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“I was just a humble little boy from a favela,” he told Sky Sports.
“I slept on the couch because I didn’t have a bedroom.” I didn’t have football boots on.
“I lived right in the middle of the favela.” There were drug sellers twenty yards from my house.
“Sometimes, you’d be watching a game on Sunday and smell cannabis coming into the house.”
“There were times when my sister, brother, and I would cry and hug each other while we thought about our lives.”
“There were times in the middle of the night, we were bailing water out of our flooded house, but we’d still do it with a smile on our faces.”
Antony joined the youth team at Sao Paulo in 2010 and stayed there until 2020 when he was signed by Ajax.
He played for the Eredivisie giants in Amsterdam and scored 24 goals and set up 22 others. His play made some of Europe’s biggest teams interested in signing him.
It was only a few hours left in the transfer window, but new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was eager to bring him back to England.
He called the move his “dream move” when he got there and said his “head and heart” were at Old Trafford even though he was still tied to Ajax.
Antony scored the first goal of his United career just 16 minutes into his first game against Arsenal.
In the interview with Sky Sports, he also said that the effort was a gift to his family.
He also said, “It was very emotional when I saw the net bulge and the fans standing up and cheering.” It gave me goosebumps.
“That goal was for my family and the fans.”
