MICHAIL ANTONIO almost never made it to the top — because his mum wanted him at church on Sundays instead of playing football.
The striker went from turning out for Tooting & Mitcham United to being West Ham’s all-time Premier League top scorer.
Michail Antonio has become West Ham’s all-time top Premier League scorer Credit: Alamy
The West Ham forward nearly quit football entirely aged 17 Credit: Rex Yet after being turned away at trials by several EFL clubs, Antonio nearly quit football entirely, aged 17, as he struggled to support himself financially.
Playing as a youngster for his local team was never guaranteed either — before a Tooting coach convinced Antonio’s Jamaican-born mum to allow him to skip church.
Antonio, 32, explained: “I didn’t really like to be in my house. I liked to be out. I loved to be on the streets, running around with my mates.
“I really enjoyed football but it was difficult as we played games on Sundays and my mum said, ‘No, Sunday is church day’.
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Declan Rice tipped to be future England captain as West Ham legend “But the manager came and spoke to my mum, said I had something about me and that it was a good opportunity for me.”
Antonio grew up in the Fulham ranks before a trial at Brentford, aged 16, and then one with QPR for six weeks before being sent back to Tooting, aged 17. He continued: “In the same year as getting into the Tooting youth team I managed to get into their reserves.
“The reserve manager told the first-team boss about me but he said, ‘He’s a kid, he is not going to be quick enough, strong enough to play in the first team’.
“The first game, I scored on my debut. But, there was a stage when I did think about giving up. I was 17.
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“I didn’t have much money and constantly had to ask my mum or brother for help.
“I’ve always been around people from academies and never thought they were better than me. They just had their opportunity and I didn’t.
“I went back to Tooting and, in three months, joined Reading.”
He became the Hammers’ all-time top Prem scorer back in August with a double against Leicester — overtaking Paolo Di Canio’s tally of 47.
Antonio, who will hope to add to his 54 Prem goals against Everton on Sunday, added: “Now I’m going to keep scoring and make that distance as big as I can — so it will be a very long time before anyone catches me.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
