May 16, (THEWILL)- The outwardly happy West Ham striker, Michail Antonio, has made a candid confession about his past mental health struggles. Despite earning £85,000 a week as an English Premier League star, the Jamaica international revealed he “hated football” and prayed for injuries to avoid playing due to the mental anguish he was experiencing.
In a revealing interview, Antonio discussed how his mental state was affected by the breakdown of his relationship and issues with close friends from school. He admitted he did not celebrate last year’s Conference League triumph with teammates, instead opting to sleep. “I was going through a divorce at the time and I honestly couldn’t cope,” he confided.
The discomfort manifested itself in Antonio’s performances, as he stopped scoring goals and felt exhausted. “I prayed for an injury. I just wanted to get injured, I wanted some time off,” he confessed. Thoughts of his career ending at 33 also weighed heavily, prompting him to seek therapy – something he initially thought was “for crazy people.”
However, Antonio credits therapy with changing his life. “It was embarrassing at first, I won’t lie…But I put up a fight and I have to admit that therapy changed my life,” he stated. After two years of sessions, his therapist wants him to learn to live without attending regularly.
Antonio also reflected on how his tough upbringing in South London shaped his personality and distrust of people. However, thanks to therapy, he has opened up and is now looking forward to the future at West Ham under a new manager.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
