Antonio Opens Up On Painful West Ham Exit
Michail Antonio has lifted the lid on his emotional departure from West Ham United.
The former Hammers striker, who spent a decade at the London Stadium, has spoken of his frustration after being released following his recovery from a life-threatening car crash in December 2024.
Now playing in Qatar with Al-Sailiya, Antonio admits he expected far more loyalty from West Ham after years of service in claret and blue.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the 35-year-old did not hold back.
“I was very disappointed. To be honest, I felt like, being at the club for 10 years, being one of their main players for 10 years… I would have thought they’d have given me an opportunity to try and prove myself after and offer me a contract.”
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Antonio battled hard to get back to fitness following his car crash
Injury Setbacks Forced Antonio Abroad
After his recovery, Antonio attempted to rebuild his fitness, even featuring twice in Premier League 2 fixtures. The striker scored in his first game but realistically, looked a shadow of his former self as one would expect given the circumstances.
However, proposed moves to Leicester City and Charlton Athletic both collapsed due to recurring hamstring issues, leaving the forward with little choice but to look overseas.
A move to the Qatar Stars League with Al-Sailiya followed in March, offering the striker a chance to extend his playing career.
Potter Accused Of Dressing Room Clear-Out
The most headline grabbing of Antonio’s comments were left for former West Ham boss Graham Potter.
The striker believes his exit was not purely down to fitness concerns, but part of a wider plan to reshape the dressing room.
“I felt like it was mainly pushed by Graham Potter… he was just trying to get rid of the old regime,” Antonio said.
“He got rid of a lot of the senior players like me, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Edson Alvarez… more of the leaders of the group were moved on.”
I’m no fan of Graham Potter, and perhaps he was trying to move on the older guard. But it’s hard to blame him for a very difficult situation with Antonio who was nowhere near Premier League fitness when GP was here.