Manchester United forward Antony was reportedly involved in a terrifying incident on New Year’s Eve when he crashed his BMW sports car on a motorway near his home.
The Brazilian football star, whose full name is Antony Matheus dos Santos, had been part of the team that defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier in the day in the English Premier League match at Molineux Stadium.
After the match, the 22-year-old destroyed his X6 vehicle in roadworks on the M56 near his home in Hale, according to reports. The footballer, who signed a five-year contract for a transfer from Ajax to Manchester United in August, did not sustain any injuries in the accident but was left badly shaken, while no other individuals were involved, reports The Mirror.
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Police arrived at the scene, with the footballer passing a breathalyser test with his £100,000 car recovered.
Antony was left out of the United squad which claimed a comfortable win at Bournemouth three days later as he recovered from the incident. He returned to the pitch for Friday night’s FA Cup win over Everton, where he spoke afterwards of a “shock” off-field incident.
"First of all it’s a feeling of joy, I’m happy to score again and especially at home. I’ve set some goals for me this season and it’ good to score as soon as I’ve start to think of personal goals. But of course the most important is United’s qualification," Antony told TNT Sports after the FA Cup clash on Friday (January 6).
"I also feel relieved as in the last few days I had a shock, but I prefer not to comment on what happened. It was a personal matter, really hard but I’m very grateful to God for putting this behind me now.
"Grateful to the club, to the players, to the manager to everyone that stayed by my side. It’s in the past now, I’m happy to score and I hope to keep going lie this because this is a year of a lot of achievements and wins.
"This is my mind-frame now, I’m 100% focused on honouring the fans and the club. We all know the size of this club we want to put United back where it deserves."
Antony added: "It was a really, really difficult moment for me. But God has always been by my side and I’m grateful also to my family. I dedicate this goal to them and it’s in moments like these that you know who really loves you."
A report from the Sun described Antony's car crash via a source, who said: "It was dark and wet and he made an error of judgement. He was shook up but thankfully no one else was involved and he wasn’t injured."
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