‘More money’… Jordi Cruyff thinks Man Utd sold ‘special player’ who he tried to sign as Barcelona sporting director
Former Barcelona sporting director Jordi Cruyff has now admitted that he tried to bring one ex-Manchester United player to the Camp Nou during his time at the club.
The son of iconic Dutchman Johan Cruyff, former Manchester United player Jordi Cruyff followed in his father’s legendary footsteps by playing for Barcelona.
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The 51-year-old Dutch former attacking midfielder made his return to the Camp Nou in his post-playing career after he was appointed sporting director in 2022.
Cruyff, who was brought to Old Trafford by Sir Alex Ferguson as a player in 1996, took up his former Barcelona post during a period of turbulence at the Spanish side.
Barcelona had been saddled by their eye-watering £1.15bn debt in 2021, which also hindered their ability to keep Argentine icon Lionel Messi at the La Liga club.
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Jordi Cruyff now speaks out on former Man Utd winger Antony and another Barcelona star
Jordi Cruyff reunited with former Manchester United teammates Gary Neville and Roy Keane on the latest episode of The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast.
The former United player candidly opened up about the major transfer difficulties that he faced at the Camp Nou in Barcelona’s post-Lionel Messi era.
Cruyff explained that the La Liga outfit were considering a potential move for Antony when he was at Ajax ahead of United’s big-money transfer for the Brazilian winger.
The ex-Barcelona sporting director admitted that Antony, who is now at Real Betis, was identified as one potential transfer target alongside Brazil winger Raphinha.
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“[…] I remember there was a moment we wanted a winger and we had to choose between Raphinha and Antony,” Cruyff said.
“And when you have a fair play issue, of course, Antony in the end went for much more money than anybody expected.
“But we really had to make choices based on, ‘Okay, if he succeeded [sic] in the Premier League and things go wrong, we’ll always get our money back.’
“So, we’ll always be able to send him to the Premier League [if it didn’t work out].”
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Man Utd legend Gary Neville asks Jordi Cruyff about Barcelona’s transfer interest in Antony ahead of the Raphinha signing
United signed Antony on deadline day in 2022 and the 25-year-old Brazil international was reunited with former Ajax manager Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils agreed a whopping initial fee of £82m for the Brazilian attacker and Antony struggled to live up to the high expectations placed on his shoulders.
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Responding to Cruyff, Gary Neville asked: “You looked at Antony closely?”
Cruyff suggested that Antony fit the profile that Barcelona were looking for with a winger and he insisted that the Real Betis star is a “special player.”
“We looked at both [Antony and Raphinha], basically,” he told Neville.
“But Antony, we liked [him] because it’s a Spanish [thing]; I mean, now he’s in Betis and he is doing a really good job – like, he’s a special player.
“But back then, we were thinking if we signed a player from Holland and things [went] wrong, you’ll never get your money back.”
Barcelona finally completed a move for Raphinha in 2022 and the La Liga club agreed to pay Leeds United a transfer fee worth up to £55m for the Brazilian.
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