by Staff Writer
Friday, 27th February 2026
Veteran striker Michail Antonio is poised to embark on an unexpected new chapter in his career after agreeing a short-term contract with Qatari Stars League side Al‑Sailiya.
The deal, expected to run until the end of the current season will see the 35-year-old return to competitive football - roughly 14 months after the near-fatal car crash that halted his career and ultimately led to his departure from West Ham.
Having remained unemployed since leaving the club at the end of the 2024/25 season, Antonio - who spent the peak years of his professional life in east London, having moved from Nottingham Forest in 2015 - trained with several English sides while rebuilding fitness.
Initial interest from Championship clubs, notably from Charlton and Leicester City, failed to materialise, as did exploratory talks elsewhere. Now the opportunity in Qatar has emerged as the platform for West Ham's former number nine's long-awaited return to first-team action.
Reports indicate Al-Sailiya, currently ninth in the league with only six matches of the current campaign remaining, view the capture of a player with Antonio's pedigree as a short-term boost in their season. Their most notable player at present is former Everton defender Mason Holgate, who moved to Qatar last month.
After suffering multiple leg fractures in the terrible December 2024 crash, which led Antonio to later concede he was “close to dying,” he gradually resumed training and even made brief appearances for West Ham’s Under 21's during rehabilitation.
But since parting company with West Ham, the Jamaican international's determination to play again has been widely noted and the Qatari switch suggests confidence in his physical ability and enduring attacking instincts.
Signed by Slaven Bilic for West Ham following an impressive spell at the City Ground, Antonio initially featured in several positions before reinventing himself as a centre-forward - a positional shift that came to define both his career - as did his exuberant goal celebrations.
Antonio ultimately made 323 appearances in all competitions for West Ham, scoring 83 goals, including 68 in the Premier League—making him the club’s all-time leading scorer in the post-1992 era.
The pinnacle arrived in 2023 when he played a central role in West Ham’s UEFA Europa Conference League triumph in Prague, the club's first major trophy in over four decades. His seven goals en route to the final underlined his value as a big-game performer, even though he failed to score against Fiorentina.
For the Qatari club, Antonio - even in his mid-30s - offers leadership, Premier League pedigree and a proven scoring record. For Michail, the move to warmer climes represents the chance to finish his career on his own terms, after adversity came so close to ending it prematurely.
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