How Michail Antonio worked his way back from the brink to seal post-West Ham move
Michail Antonio has detailed how he ultimately earned his first move after leaving West Ham.
Antonio did not get to say a proper farewell to London Stadium supporters, as a car crash in December 2024 ended his time with the club.
He has admitted that he still has lots of love for West Ham, and revealed how he nearly signed for several teams in the last few months.
He ended up signing for Al-Sailiya in Qatar, but he nearly remained in English football, but not with the Hammers.
How did Antonio feel about West Ham exit?
Antonio broke his femur bone in his leg in four different places after his Ferrari sports car crashed into a tree in Epping Forest.
He had to learn how to walk, run then jump again, in a brutal recovery process, but he believes that was not the hardest part.
He claimed that it was the knockbacks that really hurt him, the first of which was from the club that he served for 10 years.
Graham Potter did not want him, and he admitted in an interview with BBC Sport that it was “a hard pill to take.”
What annoyed Antonio about potential transfers?
Given his pedigree at the top-level, the Jamaica international was hesitant when interested clubs wanted him to prove his fitness.
They were not willing to just sign him without seeing him train, and that irked Antonio, given his clear quality.
He said: “I’ve still got the qualities I had in the Premier League for the past 10 years, it shows, because every single manager was putting a contract in front of me once I trained with them.
“But there were managers and clubs who refused to look at me because of what happened – the accident, the injury.
“Some owners went against it. In football, the manager can want you, but it’s the owner’s money.
“My agent kept calling clubs, and the same thing happened – clubs wanted me to train first.
“With the ego I had, I said ‘I’m not coming to train. You’ve seen me play with Jamaica, you’ve seen my past 10 years. I shouldn’t have to train to get a contract.’
“Clubs said ‘if you don’t train, we won’t sign you’.
“After staying at West Ham, training with the under-21s and going away with Jamaica again, my agent said ‘you’re going to have to train, prove your fitness.’
“I had to swallow my ego – that’s how I ended up at Brentford. I trained with them for two weeks.”
What other setbacks did he face?
The 35-year-old revealed that he could have signed for Leicester and Brentford, but the Foxes did not want him to get injured on their watch, and a calf issue hampered a move to the Bees.
He said: “When I found out I’d torn my calf the day before signing for Brentford, I laid in bed for two days.
“First day, I was just crying. The second day, I just didn’t want to get out of bed. I thought ‘I’m back where I want to be, I’m back in the Premier League’. And then it happened again with Leicester.
“I was meant to return to Leicester but they didn’t want me back in because they didn’t want a relapse on their books. So I trained alone for a week and then went into Charlton.”
He nearly joined the London-based side, but he was soon talked out of that as the Qatar opportunity came about.
How did his move to Qatar happen?
Antonio said that the move to the Qatar Stars League was brought about by former Everton and West Brom defender Mason Holgate.
Mirghani Al Zain is understood to have asked Holgate to recommend a free agent striker, and he brought up the ex-Irons star.
He was then persuaded to make the move to the Doha-based side and rejected a potential switch to Charlton.
Hammers supporters will be able to watch Antonio with the Peregrines for the next two months, before his contract expires and he is free to move elsewhere.
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