Man United summer signing Antony has revealed his humble upbringing in Brazil, revealing that he “had no shoes to play football” as a child and grew up smelling of cannabis.
On the last day of the summer transfer window of 2022, Man United successfully signed Ajax winger Antony after accepting a payment of £ 82 million. Before moving to Man United to reunite with coach Erik ten Hag, Antony had two seasons with the Dutch strategist in the Ajax shirt.
In a recent interview, Antony admitted that life as a young boy was extremely challenging for him and his family, living in a poor slum in Brazil.
Specifically, the player born in 2000 grew up in the slum Inferninho (rough translation: Miniature Hell), one of the most dangerous areas of Osasco, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo city. Here Antony often witnessed criminals fleeing from the police as well as evil appearing everywhere on the streets and alleys.
“I’m just an ordinary kid from the slums. I don’t have shoes to play football. I don’t have a bedroom, I sleep on the sofa,” Antony told Sky Sports.
“I lived in the middle of the slums. There were drug dealers 20 meters from my house. Sometimes you’re watching a game on Sunday and there’s the smell of marijuana coming into the house.
Sometimes, my siblings and I hug each other to cry when we think about our difficult situation. There are times when in the middle of the night we have to slap water out of our flooded house, but we do it anyway with a smile on our face.
Joining Man United is like the biggest dream of my life and thank them for their persistence in pursuing me,” the Brazilian added.
Antony kicked off his United career with his first goal against Arsenal last week, as manager Ten Hag secured a fourth straight Premier League win to move his side up to fifth in the table. .
The Brazil international admitted that the moment he scored gave him “goosebumps” as he rushed towards the fans present at Old Trafford to celebrate. The 22-year-old added: “When I saw the net go up and the fans stood up to cheer, I was very emotional. I got goosebumps. That goal was for my family and the fans.”
