Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterMichail Antonio had admitted that he felt abandoned by West Ham after suffering a devastating car crash in December 2024.The forward was entering the final months of his contract with the Hammers when he suffered the accident which saw him suffer a gruesome leg break.The aftermath of the incident saw a complete breakdown in his relationship with West Hams then-boss Graham Potter, as Antonios ten-year tenure in east London came to an end.Antonio on his West Ham rejectionPotter had replaced Julen Lopetegui as Hammers boss during Antonios recovery, and while he clearly did not see eye to eye with the now-Sweden coach, his first blow came when the clubs former chairman Karren Brady made an initial contract offer.Karren Brady told me that shed offer me a �5,000-a-week contract, but with the under-21s, not the first team, Antonio tells FourFourTwo. I said, How can you offer �5,000 a week and tell me to play for the under-21s, when the under-21s are on more than that and Ive been at this club for 10 years? Her response was, Well, they havent been in a car crash and shattered their leg. I was like, Oof, OK I didnt sign the contract. You may like Michail Antonio wanted West Ham to get relegated after sour end to Hammers career West Ham United legend Michail Antonio exclusive: Ive been talking to a few clubs since leaving Qatar, but Im thinking that I could possibly retire I'm weighing things up, Im going to make a decision by the middle or end of June' I have no memory of my car crash. When the first responders got there one leg was a quarter smaller than the other because it was completely shattered Michail Antonio on his 2024 car crash It was soon clear that Potter did not see the 36-year-old as part of his plans.Graham Potter tried to stop me coming to the training ground for the rest of my contract because I made a comment during something I did with TNT, the same comment that Id been making for years, about how clubs treat players like meat. As soon as a player starts getting stale, the club want to release them. I said that on TNT, went in the next day and Graham pulled me into his office.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.He said, I think its best that you dont come back in here. I told him, Well I will be, because you guys have a duty of care to me and I know Im allowed to be here, so Ill see you tomorrow. It was an argument and, from that day, we never even said hello to each other, and never spoke again.With Antonio having played more than 300 times for the club over the past decade, it upset him that Potter viewed him as being negative and not wanting West Ham to succeed.Exactly, he agrees. I was in there, making jokes with the boys and he could see that. My character is always to try to make people happy. Boys were messaging me when I didnt have a club, saying, It would be good for you to be back here. What to read next West Ham star 'will not play in the Championship': report First major West Ham United exit after relegation revealed as summer rebuild stalls: report West Ham United part ways with 'exceptional leader' in midst of relegation run-in He just had a problem with me, he never actually knew me he came in after my car crash and during that period I wasnt really in the club, I was doing rehab in Dubai or Manchester, I might have been at the club maybe once a month for a week, so he never got to know me.It is perhaps little surprise that Antonio agrees that Potter was the reason that West Ham were sliding to their eventual relegation.Definitely, he continues. He made the decision to get rid of all of the senior players. Me, Aaron Cresswell, Vladi Coufal, Edson Alvarez he got rid of all of the players who were leaders. And then within a month of the season starting, he said, Weve got no leaders. How does that even make any sense? How can you get rid of all the leaders, then go, We have no leaders in the changing room. It was your doing!Michail Antonios autobiography 'Humans Not Robots', published by HarperCollins, is available nowTOPICSWest Ham UnitedPremier LeagueJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromChris FlanaganSenior Staff Writer
