Former Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk says he has doubts over Antony in the Premier League as he tells Man Utd that Cristiano Ronaldo is “suffocating” the team.
Ronaldo wants to leave Man Utd this summer after the Premier League club failed to qualify for the Champions League last campaign.
There have also been rumours that he is a divisive figure in the dressing room with his unrealistic expectations of the current squad causing friction.
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And Van Marwijk has likened the situation surrounding Ronaldo as similar to the time Man Utd sold David Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003.
Writing in his column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Van Marwijk said: “A player like Ronaldo often has a suffocating effect on a team.
“Other players would have been looking at him when he joined the group after a few weeks of missing pre-season. They are curious how the new coach will react to Ronaldo’s presence. Believe me, players talk to each other and watch what a coach does with such a player.
“When the coach makes hard decisions, it works liberating for the group.
“It’s hard to say goodbye to such great stars. I only know one coach in the world who didn’t care what the fans thought. That was Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Look what Ferguson did with David Beckham at Manchester United. Beckham was the most popular footballer in all of Britain, but one day he just sent him away. Most coaches struggle with unpopular decisions, but Ferguson never did. He later sent Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam, too.
“I look at the situation of Ronaldo in the United team and it reminds me of what happened with Beckham.”
Antony is expected to seal his move to Man Utd on Tuesday after Ajax and the Red Devils agreed a €100m fee for the Brazilian.
But Van Marwijk has dampened any expectations that Antony will score lots of goals in the Premier League for Man Utd.
He added: “Ajax did well to take 100million euros from Manchester United anyway.
“It is the absolute top price and that amount the club would never have received in the future for Antony. I have heard the criticism that Antony was never able to score 10 goals in a season at Ajax.
“But he is not a scoring player – and he will not score much in England. But he can make the difference because he has the ability to create things and can always give an assist. He looks spectacular with his actions, but is…
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