'My Ego': Michail Antonio explains transfer decision after Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth links

Ex West Ham forward Michail Antonio has spoken out about the process of finding a new club following a near fatal car crash in December 2024, having put pen to paper with Qatari outfit Al-Sailiya.

The 35-year-old had signed a short term deal in the Middle East following links with Charlton Athletic and Portsmouth. Antonio had been training with the Addicks and almost signed a pay-as-you-play deal at The Valley.

Antonio has not played a competitive game in England since the car crash in December 2024 that left him with multiple leg fractures. He did feature for Jamaica at the Concacaf Gold Cup in June.

The striker was released by West Ham prior to the 2025/26 campaign with Callum Wilson arriving on a free agent deal having left Newcastle United. Antonio made 323 appearances for West Ham and is the club’s record Premier League goalscorer.

Michail Antonio snubs Charlton Athletic for Qatari outfit

Speaking about the move to Qatar, Antonio said: “Every team I’ve been to and trained with, they wanted to sign me. Clubs are calling and saying they want me to come in and train. With my ego that I had, I was like, ‘I’m not coming to train. You’ve seen that I’ve gone and played with Jamaica, what I’ve done in the last 10 years, I shouldn’t have to go in and train with somebody. I should be able to just sign a contract and come in’.

“My ego was getting in the way of me signing contracts, because I wasn’t doing it [training with a club]. I was like, ‘Cool, don’t sign me, someone will sign me.’ I had to swallow my ego.”

Antoino had held talks with Brentford and Leicester City over a potential move last summer but nothing came to fruition from those links. Speaking about the player after he trained with Charlton Athletic, Addicks boss Nathan Jones told South London Sport: “He went out [to Qatar] and, to be fair, the weather is better out there than here. So who can blame him?

“Michail Antonio won’t be coming here. We were in conversations, and we would have loved to have had him. He’s a fantastic player and a great character. But the financial pull of that part of the world is significant. We wish him well, but that ship has now sailed for us.”

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho had also been asked about signing the player and said: “Without being harsh on anyone like that, I think physically having been in a really serious car accident, we didn’t think it was the right profile to necessarily bring in.”

In other news, West Ham get key fitness update ahead of Fulham, Man City and Aston Villa clashes.