New Delhi: Former AS Monaco and Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has finally found a new home for himself after leaving Old Trafford at the end of last season. One of the most highly-rated youngsters of his time, Martial spent nine years of his senior career playing for Manchester United and endured a fairly mixed time at the club despite showing glimpses of his form.
He has now agreed to a three year deal with Greek side AEK Athens, joining them on a free transfer. He spent the entire summer waiting for a big move after he was linked with several top European sides like Marseille, Atalanta, Besiktas, and even Lyon according to some reports. However, none of those moves materialized throughout the transfer window and then it seemed like the Frenchman was set to join Brazilian side Flamengo but that move also collapsed.
Ο μάγος έρχεται!!! 🟡⚫️
Ραντεβού στο αεροδρόμιο!!! ✈️
Arrival: Anthony Martial
Time: 20:40
Location: El. Venizelos airport Meeting point: Exit 7#aekfc #aekfcseason2024_2025 #summertransfers #Martial pic.twitter.com/yls71N3NJP
— AEK F.C. (@AEK_FC_OFFICIAL) September 18, 2024
With his move to the Greek outfit now confirmed by the club, Martial has reportedly agreed to a deal worth £2.9 million per year, which makes him the highest paid player in the club’s history. His historic contract at the club comes at the cost of the forward leaving top European football as he settles for life outside the top five leagues of Europe at just 28 years of age.
Anthony Martial’s Manchester United Tenure
Anthony Martial had a mixed tenure at Old Trafford. (Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
It was a dream start to life at Manchester for the Frenchman as he became the world’s most expensive teenage footballer after the English club paid £36 million upfront to Monaco to prize him away from the club. The deal also contained some performance related add-ons which would’ve made the fee much higher but only one of the add-ons was completed making the eventual fee to be £44.7 million. His contract included an add-on fee for if he won the Ballon d’Or before June 2019, that’s how high both clubs rated him at the time.
He hit the ground running from the very first game he played for the club, scoring on his debut against Liverpool and helped the Red Devils win the game 3-1. He followed that up with a brace against Southampton a week later in what was his full debut for the club. He had such a huge early impact that former manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that he could do anything. He had a fantastic first season with the club, making 49 appearances for Louis Van Gaal’s side, scoring 17 and assisting eight more.
The following season, he had a lot more competition in the squad as new manager Jose Mourinho had brought in star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the club and he automatically displaced Martial from the team. His jersey number was taken from him and was handed over to Zlatan and the Frenchman went on to have a torrid second season at the club as he scored eight and assisted eight in 42 games, marking a drastic fall in numbers from the previous season.
Things started going downhill for him since the second season and he never looked like returning to the form he showed in his first year at the club. However, after two sub-par seasons, he once again broke out of his shell and carried the team during the post Covid lockdown period and finished the 2019/20 season with 34 goal contributions in just 48 games. He would fail to capitalize on that form during the remainder of his stay at the club and also struggled on loan at Sevilla. He left the club at the end of last season contributing to just three goals in 19 appearances as his United career came to a bitter end.
Can he revive his career at AEK Athens?
This front three for AEK Athens can guide them to the Greek Super League title (Photo Credits: Getty Images)
The now 28-year-old Martial has moved to a lesser competitive league that the English top-flight and will look to regain the form he showed in flashes at Old Trafford and doing so away from the mainstream media coverage that the top Europeans leagues attract might be a good thing for him. Playing for AEK Athens, Martial can look to use this opportunity to get himself back in form in a lower league before using this platform to get back into the top five leagues given he still has a few years left in him.
There have been a few former players that have regained form while playing for the Athens-based side. Former Premier League players like Djibril Sidibé and Nordin Amrabat utilized this opportunity well. Sidibé spent two years at the club, made over 40 appearances and earned him a move back to France and now plays for Toulouse. Former Watford midfielder Amrabat joined the club the club before the start of the 2021/22 season and has remained with them ever since.
Amrabat has made over 100 appearances for the Athens side and has proven to be an important part of the side and Martial could look to do something similar. Even current captain and former Croatian International Domagoj Vida signed for the club recently and is reviving his career in Greece even at the age of 35. Only last season, he made 39 appearances and scored eight goals from center-back.
AEK Athens had been extremely active in the transfer window that just concluded and brought in several former Premier League stars to the club. Albanian keeper Thomas Strakosha joined from Brentford, former Spurs winger Erik Lamela arrived at the club after he left Sevilla, and former Watford midfielder Roberto Pereyra also joined in the summer after leaving Udinese. With a good supporting cast around him, Martial should rediscover his form and guide the club to their 14th Super League Greece title this season.
The 28-year-old left the Red Devils following the expiry of his contract at the end of last season spent the entire transfer window waiting for an offer from one of the top European sides. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
