Manchester United's marquee summer signing Antony has waxed lyrical over Cristiano Ronaldo after the pair lined up together for the first time since his arrival from Ajax last month.
Having been signed for a staggering £85million from the Dutch champions, Antony's United career got off to the perfect start last Sunday with a debut goal against long-term rivals Arsenal during a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford. He started the clash against the Gunners and struck in the first half before Ronaldo replaced him around the hour mark.
Antony didn't actually share the pitch with the 37-year-old footballing icon until the following Thursday, when United welcomed Spanish outfit Real Sociedad to Old Trafford for match-day one of the Europa League group stages.
Unfortunately for everyone associated with Erik ten Hag's side, the shared force of Antony and Ronaldo was not enough to stop United falling to a surprise 1-0 defeat. Despite failing to secure a positive result, the 22-year-old was full of praise for his new teammate.
"Words can’t describe Cristiano, the best in the world," Antony explained to the club's official website. "In just a few days, I’ve learnt a lot from him. He has an extraordinary mind and, whenever I talk to him, I take a lot from it.
"I’m sure that we have a strong attack and it’s very promising for the future. I’ve come to help my team-mates. Regardless of age, there’s immense talent in all the players."
HAVE YOUR SAY! How many goals will Antony end his debut season with? Comment below!
In some ways, the opening exchanges of Antony's United career are similar to Ronaldo's. Plenty of skills and trickery have sparked huge optimism among the Red Devils faithful that the winger can be the player to rejuvenate Ten Hag's forward line.
The Brazilian international has made a vow to continue with his outlandish, flamboyant style of play. "I’ve always done this, not just here but for all the teams I’ve played for," he added. "I’ve been doing it ever since I was a child. It’s one of my characteristics. I am adapting and getting used to things here already. Entertaining is something I’ve always liked, and I’ll continue doing it."
United boss Ten Hag knows all about Antony's style of play from their shared time in Amsterdam. The Red Devils manager has spoken recently about how essential signing the winger was, saying: "He will be a threat in the Premier League. We were missing a player on the right wing.
"[Jadon] Sancho and [Marcus] Rashford can play there but they prefer the left, so now we have the missing link who can play well on the right. We needed that on the right wing with his pace and dribbles and expression."
