Ajax bid farewell to £85m Antony
MANCHESTER United have reached agreement with AjAx over the £84.8million transfer of Brazilian winger Antony.
A breakthrough was reached yesterday with United offering £77m with the rest in add-ons and a solidarity payment for Antony’s previous club Sao Paulo. He will sign a five-year deal with the option for another year.
Ajax rejected United’s offer of £76m on Friday and insisted Antony would not be sold. However, their stance softened after a board meeting and United’s increased offer. They have also revived their bid to sign Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech as a replacement.
His departure is a boost for Rangers, who open their Group A Champions Lague campaign with a trip to Amsterdam on September 7.
Despite the fee, the club-record sale was not welcomed by Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder, who watched his side record their fourth league victory from four games yesterday as they despatched Utrecht 2-0.
He said: ‘Nowadays, everything is about money. I find this sad. But this is our world.’
After pleading for the move, Antony (below) had been refusing to train and was left out of yesterday’s match, which kept the Amsterdam club top of the Eredivisie.
Steven Berghuis gave the Dutch giants a tenth-minute lead at the Stadion Galgenwaard before Brian Brobbey doubled their lead just before the interval.
That proved enough for Schreuder’s side, but there was controversy as young striker Brobbey was the victim of some allegedly racist chanting from the home crowd, while Daley Blind was forced off with injury early in the second half after a crunching tackle.
Ajax are two points clear of Feyenoord at the summit.
While Rangers’ other Group A rivals Liverpool were romping to a 9-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday, NAPOLI moved to the top of Serie A on goal difference despite a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina, who are in Hearts’ Europa Conference League group. Celtic’s Group F rivals REAL MADRID are top of La Liga and maintained their 100-per-cent record with a 3-1 win at Espanyol. Vinicius Junior gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side the lead on 12 minutes but Joselu levelled for the hosts in the 43rd minute. Karim Benzema netted a late double to secure victory. French danger man Christopher Nkunku scored both goals, the first from the penalty spot, as Celtic’s opponents RB LEIPzIg beat Wolfsburg 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Ukrainians SHAKHTAR DONETSK, who complete the Parkhead side’s group, defeated ten-man Krvbas 1-0 yesterday.*