Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini said on Tuesday that Brazilian winger Antony wanted to "take revenge" while on loan at Real Betis after struggling to reach Manchester United's huge price.

Antony has joined Betis in January after only five and a half years of Premier League goals since Ajax's transfer of 100 million euros ($113 million). The 25-year-old has matched Betis' 17 Laliga matches, and he has won four more times in the Spanish club's UEFA Conference League final, and they will face Chelsea on Wednesday.

Speaking before the final in Wrocław, Pellegrini said Antony was inspired by wanting to prove a point of view.

"I talked to him before he came to Betis. He told me he didn't play because he wasn't happy, but he also complained a lot about what he did."

"He wanted to take revenge, and at Betis, I think he had it, and he did it in the way we knew he could do it because it wasn't easy for you as a 100 million player. Anthony is a very good player. I'm absolutely sure it's a huge time for him at Betis and can help him improve his career."

What Anthony's future will be after Wednesday remains to be seen. Betis has no secret of their desire to keep Brazilian international aspirations in Seville, but is also open to the finances involved in a permanent transfer that may prove that they are beyond them.

Although Betis has a relatively small budget, that's not the case with their league's ultimate rival. Nevertheless, Pellegrini, who previously led the big Dermendent Manchester to the Premier League title, insisted that the budget would be nothing when the final match began on Wednesday.

"We don't think we're David and the Giants," he said. "I think we'll have the possibility of winning the game tomorrow. We'll try to do this from the first minute.

"The budget of one team or another team doesn't matter. In 90 minutes, we will have the exact same chance to win this game."

Real Betis won the Spanish League in 1934-35, as well as three Copas del Reys (most recently in 2022), but they have not yet won in the European Division and in any competition they have never surpassed the quarterfinals before.

"Thinking it was the first step to victory," said Captain Betis Isco. "It would be a very difficult game, but we believe in our team. We have proven that we have the ability to beat any team, and we look forward to this final and bring joy to our fans, what they deserve most."

The Associated Press information is used in this report.