Dimitar Berbatov brands Man Utd player 'stupid' as Zinedine Zidane comparison made

Former Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov has criticised winger Antony - and explained how he can improve his current situation at Old Trafford.

Antony has failed to register a goal or assist in any of his 11 appearances this season, and was restricted to a five-minute cameo appearance during the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last month.

The Daily Mirror even claimed that United and manager Erik ten Hag were willing to sanction a loan move for Antony as part of a swap deal to sign Flamengo star Gabriel Barbosa in January.

But Fabrizio Romano has since reported that Antony will not be joining the club.

He explained: "Understand Antony will not join Flamengo or any Brazilian club despite the recent rumours. That possibility is not even being considered.

"No loan deal, no plans to return to Brazil despite links with swap deal for Gabigol."

Now, speaking to Betfair, Berbatov explained what Antony needs to stop doing in order to succeed at United.

He stated: "Ten Hag is giving Antony his trust. Antony needs to know that every time he steps on the pitch, he needs to justify Ten Hag's trust, work his socks off to show, 'Yes boss, you're trusting me, I don't want to let you or the team down'.

"However, right now, it's not working well for Antony, so my piece of advice would be to keep it simple, don't overcomplicate stuff.

"The moment you start thinking you're Ronaldinho or Zinedine Zidane while you're struggling in games, you're going to suffer even more. Don't try to do stupid things like tricks that are not beneficial for the team.

"You're so quick, use your pace to get in behind the defence, get on the ball and start to record assists or shoot to score.

"That's how simple it is. Stay disciplined and concentrated - it's not so difficult."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.