West Ham have announced that the man known for breaking records, iconic celebrations and much more has left the club following the expiration of his contract.
Michail Antonio departs as arguably **West Ham**’s most successful striker in recent years, despite playing in multiple positions for the Hammers before becoming a forward. He became **West Ham**’s all time Premier League leading scorer and played a big part in the club’s UEFA Conference League success in the 2022-2023 season.
The 35-year-old has made 323 appearances for West Ham since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015. During the ten years he scored 83 goals and picked up 42 assists for the East London club.
He also contributed to **West Ham**’s successful period in Europe between 2021-2024. During those three seasons he featured 26 times across the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and qualifying, scoring 10 goals and grabbing four assists.
Record Breaker
In August 2021, Antonio broke **West Ham**’s all time Premier League goal scoring record as he scored his 48th goal for the club, putting himself ahead of the previous leader, Paulo Di Canio.
Despite joining the Hammers as a right-midfielder and playing at right-back on numerous occasions in the 2016-17 season, Antonio became **West Ham**’s most influential striker in recent times.
Between 2015-2019, the Jamaican scored 28 goals in 129 appearances. Compared to between 2019-2025, he made 195 appearances and scored 55 goals. His most notable goalscoring period was when he scored 10 goals three seasons in a row, which ultimately helped him become the leading scoring in the Premier League for West Ham.
It was on the 23rd August 2021 that he wrote himself into West Ham history when the Hammers beat Leicester City 4-1. Antonio went into the game level with Di Canio for goals and managed to score two against the Foxes making the record his. It also wouldn’t be an Antonio goal without an iconic celebration as he held up a cardboard cutout of himself when he scored the record breaking goal.
First & Last Game
Having joined West Ham in the 2015-16 season, Antonio had the opportunity to be part of the final West Ham to play at Upton Park before it was demolished.
The Hammers welcomed Manchester United for the penultimate game of the season and the final game at what was **West Ham**’s home for 112 years.
Diafra Sakho put the Hammers 1-0 up but thanks to Anthony Martial, Manchester United fought back to make it 2-1 midway through the second half.
However, Antonio brought West Ham back level when he thunderously headed home Dimitri Payet’s looping through ball. Winston Reid then made it 3-2 to West Ham, as they left the final game at the Boleyn Ground with three points.
With Antonio's departure, there are now no more remaining players at the club who played in the final game at the Boleyn Ground.
As well, as scoring in the final game at Upton Park, Antonio also scored the only goal in the opening Premier League at **West Ham**’s current home, the London Stadium.
West Ham welcomed Bournemouth to the first Premier League game at the London Stadium, as a club record crowd of 56,977 were in attendance.
It was a rather cagey game with neither getting a foothold, but five minutes from full-time Antonio wrote himself into West Ham history yet again.
Gökhan Töre’s cross found the Jamaican, who rose the highest to head home and give West Ham all three points in their opening Premier League at their new home.
"I was close to dying."
In December 2024, Antonio suffered a freak car accident when his Ferrari skidded off the road and struck a tree in Epping Forest.
At the time, the 35-year-olds condition was unknown and everyone feared the worse. However, he fortunately survived the crash but suffered a badly broken leg, shattering his femur bone is four places.
Antonio said in an interview with the BBC that the weather “was windy, wet and horrific”. The forward also spoke on more about the crash in his interview with the BBC.
“The police came and when they found me, I was in between the two seats. I wasn't actually in the driver's seat,” he recalled.
“They said it looked like I was trying to climb out of the window, but because my leg was so badly broken the pain probably stopped me from being able to get out.
“It's weird, because the whole way through this, I have been told that I was awake and was speaking to everybody - the police, the people, and the person who found me,” he said.
“My leg was completely shattered, and they got me out and put a splint on it by the side of the car.
“Everyone believed I got an air ambulance out, but the helicopter couldn't get off the ground because of the storm, so I was driven to the hospital.”
He also commented on how he already wanted the give the Ferrari back despite only having it for three weeks.
“The back of the car kept swinging out on me, so I didn't feel safe,” he says*. “I had had it for three weeks and I was already thinking about giving it back.”*
Antonio insisted that he will continue to play at the highest level, saying he “has been given another chance at life”. After he had recovered, he went to see remains of his car.
“It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. It just made me realise how close I was to dying. I had seen the pictures, but it was 10 times worse in person. The car was an absolute mess. It was difficult for me.”
The crash kept the forward out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Before the accident, Antonio had featured 14 times in the 2024-25 season, scoring one goal. His last goal came in **West Ham**’s 4-1 win over newly promoted Ipswich Town. His final appearance for West Ham came in a 3-1 defeat against Leicester in early December.
He has returned to football since his crash, making three appearances from the bench for Jamaica in June during their Gold Cup campaign.
It wasn’t the end that West Ham and Antonio would’ve liked but what a career he’s had in East London. From breaking goalscoring records, to lifting the UEFA Conference League, Antonio will go down in West Ham history as one of the greatest and most important players to play for the club.
Right-Back to Record Breaking Striker
When Antonio joined West Ham in 2015, he was a right winger and had played there for most of his career. However, after a string of injuries at right-back, he found himself playing as a defender.
Slaven Bilić moved Antonio to right-back and, surprisingly at the time, he impressed. Despite that, Antonio did not like the position, which he has stated numerous times.
After Bilic’s sacking, the Hammers had multiple managerial changes but settled on Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio began to play further up the pitch again. However, he was tried out as a number nine by the Chilean manager rather than in his usual right wing position.
Antonio was slowly showing traits of someone who could play as a striker, being fast and strong helped. Just as Antonio was settling in at striker, West Ham sacked Pellegrini and re-appointed David Moyes.
In the 2019-20 season, West Ham paid a then club-record fee for striker Sébastien Haller, but he struggled with injuries, which left the East London club with no recognised number nine.
With no striker, Antonio stepped up and made the spot his own, scoring 10 goals in 24 appearances. The following season Antonio scored 10 goals again as West Ham secured European football for the first time since 1999.
The 2021-22 season saw Antonio score double figures for the third consecutive season as he grabbed 13 goals and became the first West Ham player to score in a European fixture since 1999.
He made history in the 2022-23 season as he became the first West Ham player to score double figures in four consecutive seasons. He led West Ham to European glory for the first time since 1965 as he scored seven goals in the Hammers’ UEFA Conference League campaign.
The 35-year-old leaves the East London club as the most successful forward in recent times, despite not even being a striker to begin with. He still remains **West Ham**’s all-time Premier League leading goalscorer with 68 goals, but Jarrod Bowen is closing in.
Michail Antonio's West Ham Career 2015-2025
It may not have ended the way everyone would have wanted, but what a servant Antonio has been to West Ham over his ten years at the club.