Antony has suggested that he is far happier with life on loan at Real Betis than he was at Manchester United prior to his exit.
Having failed to win over new United head coach Ruben Amorim, the winger was allowed to move to the La Liga outfit during the winter transfer window.
The former £84m man is bidding to kick-start his career after contributing just 12 goals and five assists in his 96 appearances for United.
In sharp contrast, the Brazil international has been a revelation for Manuel Pellegrini's side, already chipping in with three strikes and one assist in just four matches.
Most notably, Antony has starred in comprehensive victories over Gent in the Conference League and Real Sociedad in Spain's top flight over the past week.
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"I wake up every day with a smile"
Speaking in an interview with AS, the 24-year-old has revealed that he is enjoying life at Betis, comparing the lifestyle and culture similar to life back in his homeland.
He said: "I've had a great time in Manchester too, I won two titles and I'm very grateful, but when I say that I've found myself here, I'm happy, the people are like us in Brazil. The sun helps a lot.
"I'm very happy here. I wake up every day with a smile and that's very important.
"I have a lot of friends who played here and they left me very calm so that I could sign here. I was sure in my heart that coming here was the best decision for me. I hope to continue like this."
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Any chance of a United return?
By "hope to continue like this", Antony is referring to his current form, but it seems that he would relish a move to Spain in the long term.
Whether that is plausible remains to be seen courtesy of the size of the transfer fee that United shelled out to Ajax in 2022.
That said, there will be just two years remaining on his United contract in the summer at a time when United need to facilitate sales to bolster their position with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability regulations.
United will have to accept making a substantial loss on Antony, albeit with the incentive of drastically reducing their wage bill in the process.
Darren Plant
