Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there was a “call” from a European giant to sign a Manchester United star and there was a “very clear” answer.
The Red Devils were very active in the transfer market in the summer as they required a massive overhaul after finishing 15th in the Premier League in 2024/25.
The Premier League giants invested around £230m on incomings as they strengthened in attack and signed a new goalkeeper, landing Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
Man Utd also worked on exits as most of their bomb squad, including Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, were moved elsewhere.
For most of the summer window, it felt like only a matter of time until Antony rejoined Real Betis after last season’s stunning loan spell at the Spanish side.
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This move was finalised at the end of the transfer window, but Antony has since claimed that he had an opportunity to join Bayern Munich.
“I spoke with Bayern, I don’t know if it was €7 million, but I said I had Betis’s word and that it was 95% certain and that I would respect my word,” Antony told Cope.
“I feel comfortable making this decision because I’m very happy here. More than five teams called me.”
Now, Romano has confirmed Bayern Munich’s interest and revealed there were two reasons behind his “very clear” verdict on a move to the Bundesliga giants.
“Antony is one of the big names we had in the final days of the transfer window as he moved to Real Betis. But, in an interview Antony confirmed something that I can confirm to you: there was a call coming in the very final hours of the summer transfer window from Germany. And that call was from FC Bayern,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.
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“Bayern asked about the situation of Antony. Let’s put it into context. Bayern were waiting to clarify the situation of Nicolas Jackson as the priority was always to sign Jackson.
“But, while the Jackson deal was on hold, Bayern called some other players to try to understand if there was a chance of a deal in case Chelsea really wanted to keep Jackson.
“They made a call for Antony to understand the situation with Betis. They were interested in the situation of Antony, but it was never a permanent transfer.
“The answer from the player was very clear. The focus for Antony was always to go back to Betis and to play on a regular basis as for Bayern he would’ve been just a back-up.
“He wants to play on a regular basis and he wants to feel like an important player as it’s a World Cup season.”
Romano added: “The real transfer fee for Antony to Betis is €22 million guaranteed, plus €3m in add-ons and a 50% sell-on clause on the future profit.”
