As Antony climbed down off the shoulders of team-mate Adrian having whipped the Real Betis fans into a frenzy, there was someone he wanted to make a beeline for.

Real Betis had just beaten city rivals Sevilla in LaLiga for the first time in nine years, and for those of a green and white persuasion, it was a day of uninhibited celebration.

For Antony, it was vindication—again—of his decision to leave Manchester United for Betis on loan in January, and he wanted to celebrate the derby win with one of the men responsible for him being here.

‘Players like Antony or Isco, there were never doubts about their quality. They are top players that were in a bad moment,’ García told Mail Sport.

‘In this winter transfer window of course we knew we needed a winger because we have a lack of dribbling. We looked at the market and we drew up a list of names of players that normally are forbidden for us because of the price and salary.

‘Antony, for example, he was not exactly happy in that moment. It’s difficult for a Brazilian to go to Manchester; here in Seville it’s easier.

‘We thought that giving Antony importance in this team, allowing him to be a star, and to play many games, to feel how he felt in the past, he would bring us a lot of happiness.

‘There is no science behind this, it’s not like we are sure that if Antony comes we will be fantastic. But it was intuition.’

News of Antony’s arrival in January was met with as much optimism as it was scepticism. Some spent the day following his flight on tracking websites as if a rockstar was jetting into town.

Others winced that they were about to foot the bill for United’s £86million mistake. Here was a player that looked to have had his confidence destroyed in Manchester.

‘There were doubts about his salary, his form and how a player of Antony’s character could affect the squad,’ Daniel Saldaña, a reporter for Andalusian newspaper El Mira, told Mail Sport. ‘The management took a gamble on him.’

There were alternative offers, too. More lucrative ones to both Manchester United and to Antony. Olympiacos were among the suitors.

Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini, who knows a thing or two about Manchester, intervened. A meeting at the stadium laid out to Antony and his advisors exactly how they felt he could transform their team as well as his own game to become one of the best attackers in Spanish football.

Winning man of the match on his debut in a 2-2 against Athletic Club, with one assist, soon quelled fears of a Manchester United repeat. Antony Fever struck down the fanbase overnight.

Immediately the club’s megastore was overwhelmed. Antony shirts have sold more than any other player since his mid-season arrival and as soon as you walk through the door of the megastore now you are met by a life size mannequin wearing ‘Antony 7’.

Get to the checkout and Antony 7 shirts are hung up with some level of reckless abandonment. During Mail Sport’s visit his jersey sells by the box load. After scoring a wonderful goal in their Conference League semi-final first leg against Fiorentina, soaring past his former Manchester United team-mate David de Gea, expect a few more box loads to fly out the door.

‘Character’ came up a lot when Mail Sport asked around about Antony.

Many anticipated an arrogance, an ego that he was too good for the club and the level he was perceived to be dropping too. The reality, multiple sources stressed, was so far from that.

‘From day one, Antony has shown himself to be just another guy,’ Saldaña added. ‘He is held in high esteem in the dressing room as he has arrived with a low profile, humble and eager to contribute to the team.

‘Every day he stops at the end of training sessions to meet the fans, a sign of his desire to repay the affection he has received in these first few months in Seville. Here he is already an idol.’

Garcia agreed. ‘We speak with Antony and he is just so humble,’ he added. ‘He is so lovely with everyone. Maybe when people see Antony on TV they think one thing but once he met the players they really met the person and it was totally different. He’s incredible.

‘There are players we are ready to sign that fit 100 per cent on the sports side but we meet them and say “this player is not for Betis”. With Antony it was totally the opposite.’

Club sources spoke of Antony’s charitable side and how, just recently, he got out of his car while driving home to take a photo with the elderly folk of the Los Bermejales Residence Home.

In the dressing room, sat alongside Natan, he sits opposite what Betis term their ‘star signing’ of the season, a tie-up with their foundation.

This year it is young Paola Calzado, a four-year-old battling Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopment disease that affects around 3,000 girls in Spain.

While Calzado isn’t in the dressing room every matchday it is as much a reminder to Antony as it is to the other players of the need to leave ego and privilege at the door. Manchester United would be wise to serve up something similar to their highly-paid stars.

Scepticism would be the wrong word to describe the mood in the dressing room when the move for Antony was announced.

Real Betis have shown a habit of being able to resurrect careers in others such as Isco and Giovani Lo Celso and so it was more a curiosity of what sort of player – how broken? – would walk through the door.

‘We’d seen videos of Antony and knew what he’s capable of,’ ex-West Ham midfielder Pablo Fornals said recently.

‘The question is whether he could replicate it here. He’s dispelled all those doubts because the kid has come with ambition, a desire to work, and a hunger that has also helped the team a lot and has boosted everyone’s confidence.’

Positive reinforcement has been key to Antony too. It was noticeable that mistakes of his are not met with groans from the stands or negative body language from the touchline or team-mates.

In fact against Sevilla when he did cough up possession it was a quick pep talk from Pellegrini or one of his coaches and a pat on the back that was in order, not a shouting match.

Which is why nobody inside the dressing room is surprised that since making his debut on February 2, he ranks second in LaLiga for chances created (32).

Only one player outside of Real Madrid and Barcelona has completed more dribbles than Antony (18) since touching down in Spain. And it is stats like these that have Atletico Madrid sniffing around him this summer.

‘Every day that passes I think is the best decision I could have made,’ Antony said in the days leading up to the derby.

‘I learned a lot of good things at Manchester United, but I also had a lot of bad things there. Seville reminds me of many things about Brazil. The sun, the food, the people… It’s very important for people who come from my country.’

Daily editorials on Antony – and ratings such as those in the Catalan press after the 1-1 draw with Barcelona that picked him out as the most impressive player – wax lyrical about the player that is reminiscent of the explosive talent that emerged at Ajax.

After two and a half seasons of ridicule in England, Antony is celebrated like one of the greats. Even for the most down-to-earth players, it is impossible not to get swept up in the adulation.

The elephant in the room is that all at Betis know that it remains highly improbable they can buy Antony outright in the summer, even if they return to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

Including a 1-0 victory at Real Mallorca on the day Antony’s loan deal was confirmed, Betis have won nine of 13 LaLiga matches since his arrival, soaring from 11th to fifth in the table and on the brink of the top table. A first ever European trophy may yet follow too, this season.

‘Antony is part of it here, a big part,’ Maria and Filo, Betis season-ticket holders sat behind Mail Sport, said. ‘It’s funny to us to hear about Manchester. He’s been incredible for us.’

Team-mates are acutely aware of how difficult it will be – and some are even willing to forgo salary to keep him. ‘He has to stay,’ Betis captain Isco said as the two did a TV interview with bottles of Cruzcampo in hand. ‘We have to do a crowdfunding campaign so he can stay at least one more year! We’ve noticed a change since he arrived; he brings us a lot.’

‘If necessary, I’ll put up money too. Whatever it takes!’ Team-mate Cucho Hernández told reporters as he left training last week. ‘Of course. I hope he stays.’

Club legend Joaquin came up with his own drastic plan in the past week when he said: ‘I’ll provide the car if Antony has to be kidnapped… but he has to stay, no matter what.’

Many behind the scenes at Betis are, however, growing optimistic of finding a solution. ‘Why would he want to go back to Manchester?’ One staff member remarked. They have a point.

But Antony is experienced enough to know it is a chess game between now and the end of the season and one he has no real interest in playing publicly, which perhaps sums up his coy responses to questions around him staying.

‘I’m very happy here, but it’s still too early to decide,’ Antony said. Betis staff disagree and are hard at work working on a renewal. Another loan would be preferred, while those back in Manchester push for an outright sale.

Six months ago Antony proposed to his partner Rosilene Xavier and the pair are now planning out their marriage with their children, who regularly attend games with shirts donning ‘Papa 7’ on the back. Now it is the turn of everyone at Real Betis to do everything possible to ensure there is no divorce from the team come the summer.

After all, having fired them to within 90 minutes of a European final, helped them end their derby drought, has a fanbase who adore him, and is in a city that doesn’t rain all the time, why would he want to go back to Manchester?