Former West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has signed a contract with Qatari club Al-Sailiya, 15 months after a serious car accident that left him with multiple broken legs.
The 35-year-old has revealed that the road to returning to football has not been easy at all, admitting that he had to “swallow his ego” to secure a new contract.
According to reports from the Daily Mail, talks with Brentford, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic failed, while several Premier League clubs were reluctant to sign him due to his injury history.
Antonio stressed that many clubs were cautious because of the accident, but he remains confident he can return to his highest level. The Jamaica international striker, who returned to competitive football in June at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, spoke to BBC Sport.
“I still have the quality that I have shown in the Premier League for the last ten years. Every coach I have trained with has offered me a contract immediately, but some clubs didn’t even want to consider me because of the accident.”
“The coach may love you, but in the end it’s the owner’s money that decides. I had to swallow my ego,” he declared.
Antonio initially refused to go to trials, believing that his ten-year career in the Premier League spoke for itself.
“I didn’t want to go to trials. I said: ‘You’ve seen me play for ten years, I don’t need to prove myself’. But the clubs told me clearly: if you don’t come to trials, we won’t sign you.”
After a period of training with West Ham’s Under-21 team and a return to Jamaica, he decided to accept trials and trained for two weeks with Brentford.
Disappointment before the firm
Antonio revealed he was very close to a move to Brentford, but a new injury prevented the deal.
“When I found out I was injured the day before signing for Brentford, I stayed in bed for two days. The first day I cried, and the second day I didn’t want to wake up,” the famous striker recounts his experiences.
After a failed transfer and a short training period with Charlton, he decided to accept the offer from the Middle East.
Now, after more than a year of physical and emotional challenges, Michail Antonio begins a new chapter in his career with Al-Sailiya in Qatar.