Antony's agent hits back at Ruben Amorim after the Man United boss claimed the winger 'struggled a lot' at Old Trafford due to his lack of physicality

• e-mail

Antony’s agent has snapped back at Ruben Amorim after he claimed that the winger struggled in the Premier League due to his lack of physicality.

The Brazilian struggled to find form at Manchester United with only 12 goals in 96 appearances for the club, a bitterly disappointing statistic in relation to the £85m fee United paid Ajax in 2022.

Seeking an opportunity to find his form again, Antony had a change of scenery in the January transfer window, jetting off to sunny Sevilla with Real Betis in search of revitalising his career.

The move has so far paid off with the winger scoring three times and assisting twice in seven games, proving popular amongst fans.

Yet, Manchester United boss Amorim highlighted Antony’s physicality issues when speaking to TNT Sports, which he believes is vital to playing in the Premier League.

‘When you play against any team in England, the physicality is there,' Amorim said. ‘If you don't have physicality, you will struggle a lot.

Ruben Amorim recently claimed Antony struggled in the Premier League due to his physicality

Antony left United in January to join Real Betis on loan and is now thriving in Spain

His agent, Junior Pedroso (second right) has denied that Antony's lack of physicality caused him to struggle at United

‘Antony is so much better now in Spain. It's [because of] a lot of factors but I guarantee you it's physicality.’

Amorim’s comments sparked a punchy response from Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso, who disagreed with the Portuguese’s stance in an interview with Marca.

‘We respect Ruben Amorim's opinion, but we do not agree with his point of view at all,' Pedroso said.

‘Attributing Antony's lack of success at Manchester United to a physical factor is a superficial analysis that does not correspond to reality.’

In addition, Pedroso opted to point the finger at the culture and conditions at Manchester United as a reason for players failing.

He added: ‘Many players who fail at United have success at other clubs, which raises the question of whether the problem really lies with the players.’

Pedroso's response comes as other United stars like Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay are excelling since they’ve moved away from Old Trafford.

Rashford has had a promising start to his loan spell at Aston Villa whilst McTominay is entering almost cult hero levels in Naples.

Antony's agent also pointed out how Marcus Rashford has enjoyed an upturn in form since leaving United

Seeing the potential of a permanent move in the summer, Antony may be eager to secure his long-term future with Real Betis, a transfer which could be desired by all parties involved.

The Brazilian is contracted until 2027 with United and, with an estimated market value of £17m according to Transfermarkt, the Red Devils will want to get some kind of return on a poor investment that looks unlikely to come to fruition.

Amongst the strong words shared between Pedroso and Amorim, the former Ajax man will be fully focused on Real Betis' Conference League tie against Vitoria on Thursday evening.

Los Verdiblancos are one of the favourites to win the competition along with Chelsea, who take on Copenhagen in the last-16.