Ajax boss responds to claims Manchester United have agreed a €99million deal for Antony

Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder says he is in the dark over any progress on Manchester United’s deal for Antony but has criticised the Dutch club’s decision to sell if that is indeed the case.

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The Red Devils saw an offer worth £76.3million rejected by Ajax on Friday, prompting the Brazilian winger to give a furious interview before effectively going on strike and refusing to play against Utrecht on Sunday.

While that match was taking place, news broke that United had finally convinced the Eredivisie champions to sell and were closing in on a deal worth €99million (£84m).

That fee – which includes add-ons – is just shy of Ajax’s nine-figure asking price but will still be a record for a Dutch club.

Interestingly, De Telegraaf report that the decision to entertain United’s latest offer has caused a split among Ajax’s hierarchy, with Schreuder and technical manager Gerry Hamstra having always been adamant Antony would not be sold.

But Ajax’s board feel the offer from United is simply too good to turn down and are now ready to sanction a transfer that will make Antony the second-most expensive player to move to Old Trafford after Paul Pogba.

Schreuder was unaware of any update to the transfer saga after the match against Utrecht – which Ajax won 2-0 – but was clearly frustrated about the possibility of losing a player he had expected to keep.

Asked about a deal for Antony seemingly being done for €99m, Schreuder told ESPN: ‘I would make it a €100m deal then! You would have to ask [CEO] Edwin van der Sar or Hamstra about this.’

Later in the interview, though, the Ajax boss made it clear how annoyed he would be to lose Antony, continuing: ‘Nowadays everything is about money. I find this sad.

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