A tearful Antony gave an interview in Brazil on Friday night in which the Manchester United winger vowed to clear his name in the face of attempts to “massacre” his reputation.
Police are investigating claims that Antony subjected a former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin to a series of attacks between June last year and May this year.
Two other women, Ingrid Lana and Rayssa de Freitas, have also made claims that the 23-year-old United player was violent towards them.
Antony - who strenuously denies the allegations against him - gave an emotional interview to the Brazilian TV show Fofocalizando on Friday in which he said: “I know that many are massacring me but the truth always comes out.”
Appearing close to tears at one stage as he spoke to interviewer Chris Flores, Antony:
- Claimed he had evidence that would prove his innocence
- Refuted allegations he headbutted and punched Cavallin at a Manchester hotel and attacked her while she was pregnant
- Said any notion of being dumped by United had not crossed his mind
- Expressed hurt at being dropped from Brazil’s squad this week
- Denounced violence against women
Antony said he had endured a “somewhat turbulent” relationship with Cavallin and that there was “jealousy on both sides, on my part and on hers as well.”
But the Brazil international vehemently denied claims he had ever attacked Cavallin or his other accusers.
“Negative. Negative,” he said. “I am 100 per cent sure that I have never touched a woman. And I will come with the proof. People will see the truth.
“I have never attacked and I never will attack. I’m sure I never committed physical violence. Verbal violence … I offended her [Cavallin] and she offended me too. It was on both sides. Physical violence, never.
“What I want most is to show the people that this is who I am. I want to achieve many things. I have many goals and many dreams. I want to show who I really am. I dream of returning to the national team and I want to show that Antony is innocent of all this.”
Asked if he had any fears about his contract with United being terminated, Antony said: “It’s something that doesn’t cross my mind. I know the truth and it will come out. I know that many are massacring me, but the truth always comes out. United is on top of the investigation, everything. They are following and will continue to follow.”
United said this week that they were treating the allegations “seriously” but the club have not suspended Antony, who was dropped by Brazil for their World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru. “It was difficult,” he said of being axed by his country. “I was really upset, especially because of something that I’m sure isn’t true and has become so big. I was here with my mother when I found out I was going to be cut. No, it’s easy.”
Cavallin claims she was headbutted and punched by Antony in a Manchester hotel room the day after United’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City on January 14 that resulted in a cut to her head and a breast implant being damaged. The DJ and influencer also said that she received treatment from an English doctor in her room at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Manchester following the alleged attack, claims refuted by Antony.
“Negative. I never touched her,” he said. “I’ll never headbutt someone. She was in a hotel and sent me a message. I trained in the morning, I took my car and we went to her hotel. We had lunch together normally, we talked normally, everything was normal. But there was one thing that irritated her, which was when I said I needed to go because I had appointments.
“I said I needed to go, we had an argument, she grabbed my face and said: ‘Look at me!’ She did so and put her hand on my face. I went to the bathroom, stayed there for a while, stayed there for about five minutes, then came out and said: ‘I need to leave’. She [stopped] at the door and said: ‘You’re not going’, and she didn’t let me. I tried to leave and she wouldn’t let me.
“Then she broke glasses and plates. She threw it on the ground and threw it towards me too. She came on top of me. At that moment, I held her. At no point did I get to press it. I didn’t headbutt her. When she sent me the photo [of a bleeding head], I had already left, I was already home. I was at the hotel with her before and she wasn’t hurt. I do not know what happened. We were there, I held her and calmed her, after a while she calmed down. We talked and I went home, because I had other commitments with my work.”
On accusations he punched her, causing damage to a breast implant, Antony said: “Never. I punch a woman in the chest? Like I said to you - I held her, but I didn’t hold her tight. Her silicone situation was diagnosed in 2020, before I met her. She already had to change a silicone thing.”
Cavallin alleged she was first attacked by Antony on June 1 last year while she was pregnant on holiday and claimed the United player threatened to throw her out of a moving car at speed. Antony denied this. “I was in the backseat with her and my friend was driving,” he said. “She pushed me, asked: ‘Why did you come to the club alone?’. At that moment, I didn’t even hold her or anything, because she was the one who kept pushing me in the car, I didn’t even get to hold her. Never [threatened to throw her out of the car].”
Antony also refuted claims by Cavallin that she suffered a cut finger while trying to protect herself after accusing the United player of throwing a glass cup at her at his house in May. “My hand was there. I will never throw a glass in a woman’s face or anyone else’s face, ever,” he said.
Lana, a 33-year-old banker, has given an interview in which she makes allegations about Antony to the Brazilian TV show Dominho Espetacular, which is due to air on Sunday.
