'We did due diligence!' - Furious Man Utd respond to stinging Antony signing criticisms & address cover-up claims amid serious assault allegations

Arnold held an hour-long meeting with staff to address concerns about the way the club had handled the accusations against the Brazilian winger, according to The Athletic. He also discussed the fall out over their plans to bring Mason Greenwood back into the squad.

Antony was given a leave of absence by the club last month after his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin accused him of violent behaviour, while two other Brazilian women came forward with similar allegations.

The former Ajax winger, who has denied all allegations against him by all three women, returned to Manchester last month and voluntarily attended a meeting with police, providing evidence to support his denials of the allegations. He has not been charged or arrested in Brazil or England.

Arnold addressed previous allegations that United were aware of one of the accusations against Antony from law student Rayssa De Freitas, who filed a complaint to Sao Paulo Civil Police in May 2022, while Antony was still playing for Ajax. She alleged that she required hospital treatment after being attacked by the winger and another woman following a night out in Brazil. She has since withdrawn the allegation.

Arnold, however, insisted that United were not aware of the complaint when they signed Antony in August 2022 for £85 million ($104m) as police reports in Brazil are confidential.

"As with every player, we conducted detailed due diligence, including the help of specialist third-party agencies externally," Arnold told the staff meeting, according to The Athletic.

"Police reports remain confidential to the person submitting them to the police in Brazil. So people alleging [that United knew] are not aware of how the process works in Brazil. And our due diligence did include checking legal records in Brazil, as it does for players that we bring in. So we did due diligence.

"This was not highlighted and indeed, the allegation in which people say that the police report was made was withdrawn at the time. So it’s absolutely not the case that we were aware of this and covered it up."

Antony has played twice for United since being reintegrated into the squad, coming off the bench in the Champions League defeat by Galatasaray and the dramatic win over Brentford.