Michail Gregory Antonio was born on the 28th of March 1990, and he is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club West Ham United and the Jamaica national team.
According to research, it is documented that Antonio began his career at non-League club Tooting & Mitcham United before signing with Reading of the Championship in 2008. It was the club that sent him on subsequent loan spells to Cheltenham Town, back to Tooting & Mitcham, Southampton and Colchester United, as he struggled to find a place in Reading’s first team throughout his four-year stay at the Madejski. However, a final loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday resulted in a permanent move in 2012, where he went on to make 64 appearances and score 12 goals.
It was reported that Nottingham Forest signed him from Wednesday in 2014, where his 16 goals in 50 appearances attracted attention from West Ham United of the Premier League, who signed him in 2015, where he was deployed in a number of positions including right back, right midfielder and as a winger before eventually establishing himself as the club’s main striker. Antonio became West Ham United’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League on the 23rd of August 2021.
Club career
Early career
Michail Gregory Antonio was born in Wandsworth, Greater London. The young star began playing football as a youth at Tooting & Mitcham United Juniors at the age of 12 and remained there for six seasons. Michail Antonio was scouted and invited for a trial by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14, though, his mother rejected the opportunity on his behalf and he remained with Tooting and Mitcham; he would also later unsuccessfully trial with both Brentford and Queens Park Rangers as a teenager.
Reading
The ESPN report has it that after just a handful of first-team appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United, Antonio signed for Championship club Reading on 28 October 2008 for an undisclosed fee, signing a deal until 2010. The young star rejoined Tooting on a month-long loan spell on 9 January 2009, with the loan extended for a further month on 11 February but he returned to Reading less than a week later on 17 February after being recalled by the club.
Cheltenham Town (loan)
Again, after being recalled from Tooting, Antonio was subsequently loaned out to League One club Cheltenham Town on a month’s loan, commencing on 19 February.
Southampton (loan)
On the 5th of October 2009, Southampton signed Antonio on loan for one month, making his debut on 9 October in a 3–1 away win at Southend United. The striker scored his first goal for Southampton in the FA Cup victory over Bristol Rovers on 6 November. The loan was subsequently extended until the end of the season.
Colchester United (loan)
It is also documented that Colchester United was the next destination for Antonio, where he signed on a one-month loan on 15 August 2011. The young star made his debut for the club the following day in a 2–0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic.
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday signed Antonio on an emergency loan deal until the end of the season on the 21st of February 2012. Antonio’s debut for the Owls came in a 1–0 victory over local rivals, Sheffield United on 26 February. In Michail Antonio’s next appearance, a 4–1 win against Bury, he scored two and set up another for forward Ryan Lowe. In the following match, against Bournemouth, Antonio set up the opener and scored Wednesday’s third in the opening ten minutes.
Nottingham Forest
Antonio signed a three-year contract with Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee in the region of £1.5 million on the 6th of August 2014. His strong form in Forest’s first five league matches of the season, in which he contributed three goals and three assists, led to him being named as a candidate for the Championship’s Player of the Month award for August.
West Ham United
2015–2017
It was reported that on the 1st of September 2015, Antonio signed for Premier League club West Ham United for around £7 million on a four-year contract with an option for a further two years. Antonio made his debut on 19 September, replacing Victor Moses in the 60th minute of West Ham’s 2–1 Premier League win at Manchester City. As per BBC report, in a Man of the match performance on 28 December 2015 in a 2–1 win, Antonio scored his first goal for West Ham. With West Ham United losing 1–0 to Southampton, Antonio equalised when a clearance hit him and looped over Southampton goalkeeper, Maarten Stekelenburg.
2021–22 season
Michail Antonio scored his 47th Premier League goal for the club on the 15th of August 2021, in a 4–2 victory away to Newcastle United, in West Ham United’s opening match of the 2021–22 season. As a matter of fact, the goal drew him level with the club’s all time record top scorer in the Premier League era, Paolo Di Canio. Then on the 23rd of August, he scored a brace in West Ham’s 4–1 home win against Leicester City to eclipse Di Canio’s record. Antonio’s goal celebration involved him running to the substitutes’ bench and hoisting a cardboard cut-out of himself above his head, drawing inspiration from actors Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in the musical movie Dirty Dancing.
International career
Michail Gregory Antonio revealed that he had rejected the opportunity to play for Jamaica internationally and that he harboured an ambition of playing for England in March 2016.
However, in new England manager Sam Allardyce’s first squad, Antonio was called up for the first time on the 28th of August 2016, for a 2018 World Cup qualification match against Slovakia in Slovakia on 4 September 2016 where he was an unused substitute.
Nevertheless, in the month of February 2021, Antonio was again approached by Jamaica to consider playing for them at international level. The player was said to be passionate about playing and helping them reach the 2022 World Cup.
The on the 18th of June 2021, Antonio was named in Jamaica’s 60-man provisional squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The striker missed out on the final 23-man squad, by virtue of not having secured his Jamaican passport in time.
Michail Antonio Net worth
As per Forbes report, Michail Antonio is a soccer player with a $5 million net worth. He has made such amount of wealth from his primary career as Soccer Player.
Michail Antonio salary
The right-winger signed a contract with West Ham United in May 2017 that pays him a stunning 4.3 million Euros (3.7 million pounds) per year. According to our calculations, he earns €11,749 (£10,106) per day and €490 (£421) per hour.
Honours
Southampton
Football League Trophy: 2009–10
Sheffield Wednesday
Football League One runner-up: 2011–12
Individual
Nottingham Forest Player of the Year: 2014–15
West Ham United Hammer of the Year: 2016–17
Premier League Player of the Month: July 2020, August 2021