If you thought the Glazers’ time at Manchester United was full of mistakes and errors, then check out how Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first few months have gone at Old Trafford.
While Ratcliffe will be the man to help fund United’s amazing new 100k-seater arena, regenerating the area around the current stadium, he’s also been the man to get rid of free lunches in the canteen, the man who has made a lot of hard-working staff redundant.
He’s also calling out players for their performances. Talk about being honest.
Speaking in a revealing interview last week with the BBC, the INEOS chief was rather scathing of a few players in particular.
“If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying Sancho. These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out. For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we’re paying £17m to buy him in the summer.”
Out of all those players, it’s safe to say that Antony has been one of the worst. Still, he’s enjoying quite a nice time of it at Real Betis.
Antony's form at Real Betis in 2025
If there was ever one player who totally encapsulated the reckless spending of the previous regime then it has to be the deal to bring Brazilian winger Antony to Manchester.
Skilful, yes, dazzling, yes, full of promise, yes. He had even worked with Ten Hag. In principle the ideology behind bringing Antony in made sense.
What didn’t make sense, however, was the transfer fee. He moved from Ajax for a colossal fee of £85.6m, prompting the question: Is Antony the worst value for money signing in Premier League history?
It’s hard to say no. In United red, he scored just 12 goals in 96 games. As a result, he’s cost £7.1m per goal and £891k per game. That’s without even considering his wages too. The whole transfer has been a mess.
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While Ratcliffe was brave to name-check the likes of Hojlund and Onana last week given they are regulars under Amorim, he was right to bring up Antony.
That said, perhaps it was just the environment. While the 25-year-old still isn’t proving himself worthy of such a high price tag, he is at least now finding form.
In the winter, the winger headed to Spain and Real Betis on loan where he’s enjoying a far better time of things. Remarkably, he’s one of the most in-form players in LaLiga now, scoring four goals and supplying four assists in 11 outings.
In the words of European football expert, Zach Lowy, he’s “finding a new lease on life at Betis.”
His form in Spain should, at least, mean United can now generate a decent fee so that’s one problem potentially solved for Ratcliffe.
How does he solve the Onana problem, though? He’s swiftly becoming the next Antony.
Manchester United's new Antony problem
It’s safe to say that the Brazil international became the biggest scapegoat going during his time in the north west of England.
Yet, while Hojlund did actually score last time out, the form of goalkeeper Onana continues to be questioned.
Put simply, he’s becoming the new scapegoat, the new Antony if you will, and head coach Amorim simply has to sign a replacement over the summer.
It will be a big window of change for United but part of that must be finding a new goalkeeper. This season, he has struggled significantly, described as an “absolute pushover” by Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst back in December.
#1 Arijanet Muric
5
=1 Robert Sanchez
5
#3 Bart Vergbruggen
4
#4 Andre Onana
3
#5 Ederson
2
Since then, he’s not got much better with the nadir of his time at Old Trafford coming against Ipswich in February.
It’s strange, largely because the gloveman looked to have turned a corner. Earlier in the season he led the league for the most clean sheets with six but that display against the Tractor Boys only highlighted why there are persistent doubts surrounding the Cameroon international.
The game was just four minutes old when he darted towards the edge of the box. New signing Patrick Dorgu was running towards him and played a pass towards where he expected Onana to be.
Shamefully, Onana was not where he was expected to be and not for the first time either. As a result, it allowed Jaden Philogene to run past both players and tap the ball into an empty net.
This wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time the £120k-per-week earner is at fault for a goal. Since moving to the Premier League, he’s made four – what the top-flight label as ‘errors leading to a goal’ – three of which have come this campaign.
There was that blunder against Ipswich and in January, there was the error against Brighton, spilling a low cross right into the path of Georginio Rutter who was left with a tap-in.
Meanwhile, he’s not been much better in Europe either, something that stems back to last term. After that unforgettable error-stricken night in Turkey against Galatasaray, it signified that Onana had made seven errors which have led to goals in the Champions League since 2018/19. Dismal indeed.
So, while Antony never lived up to his big price tag, Onana has also struggled to live up to his hefty £47.2m fee.
Ratcliffe simply has to get rid of both of them when the summer rolls around. Amorim’s side will be better for it.
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