On Thursday, United officially announced the signing of Anthony. Joining the Red Devils for a transfer fee of 100 million makes Anthony the king of the summer window. Anthony, who came out of the slums, is now on the "Theater of Dreams" that all players aspire to climb.
In addition to becoming the summer window king, Anthony also set a record for the departure fee of a Player in the Dutch League, becoming the second most expensive transfer fee in The history of Manchester United and the fourth most expensive player in the history of the Premier League. Only making his debut four years ago and landing in the Premier League two years ago, Anthony ushered in his dream journey.
Anthony grew up in the "Little Hell" slum, one of São Paulo's most dangerous areas, which was full of criminals. Growing up in such a difficult environment, Anthony had long since become fearless.
Recalling the hard times of his childhood, Anthony laughs and says, "The real pressure was that I was living in the slums and when I went to school at 9 a.m., I wasn't sure if I was going to eat at 9 p.m. ”
Football brought joy to Anthony and changed his destiny. In 2010, Anthony joined the São Paulo Academy, which opened up a whole new path for him.
In 2018, Anthony achieved the first achievement of his playing career, winning the challenge tournament with the São Paulo youth team in Japan, and Anthony was voted the best player.
In September of the same year, Anthony and two youth team-mates were promoted to the first team and made their career debut against Gremio in November.
However, Anthony was subsequently hit. By the beginning of 2019, the club decided to return Anthony to the youth team. At that time, the São Paulo first team will play against Eintracht Frankfurt and Ajax on the Tour.
Passaro, then CEO of São Paulo, recalled, "Unlike other young players, Anthony immediately accepted. Although traveling with the team is the wish of any young player. ”
Despite returning to the youth team, Anthony still attracted Ajax's attention with his outstanding talent. Passaro revealed, "In 2018, Ajax offered 3 million euros to buy, and they were even willing to spend more money. At this point, we understand that Anthony is no longer a young player, but an attractive player. ”
In February 2020, Anthony joined Ajax for a transfer fee of 25 million euros, starting a new chapter in his career. In the next two years, Anthony scored 18 goals in 57 appearances for Ajax, becoming the favorite of Tite and Tenhach.
Anthony was able to make great strides in two years thanks to Tenhach's coaching. Passaro noted, "For Anthony, 22, everything happened too fast. Anthony is still inexperienced, but I can say that any manager who has worked with Anthony doesn't want to lose him, as do Tenhach, Andre Jardin (former Brazilian manager, São Paulo manager) and Tite. ”
Anthony's transfer fee has been questioned, but Passaro said, "It's clear that managers like Manchester City and Tottenham are unlikely to sign Anthony for the same transfer fee, but Tenhach knows what kind of player he gets." ”
Like Neymar, Anthony is a player who likes to break through, fight, and is good at fake falls. The famous journalist Ernst pointed out that "when playing in the Dutch league, Anthony's biggest problem is that he falls too easily, and most fans are annoyed by this behavior." In the Premier League, defenders don't like such moves either. ”
"Anthony should understand that the Premier League is different from Brazil and the Dutch League and if he wants to succeed in the Premier League, then he needs to become more mature."
Needless to say, a transfer fee of €100 million will put Anthony under enormous pressure. If he can't prove his worth on the pitch, he may lose his self-confidence. However, Anthony, who came out of the slum, has long since adapted to the pressure.