Former West Ham forward and cult hero Michail Antonio has torn into ex-Hammers boss Graham Potter for apparently not making the effort to get to know him before his exit.
Potter took over West Ham in January 2025, but was sacked by the club in September as they languished in the bottom three of the Premier League table.
Antonio, meanwhile, played for the London-based side between 2015 and 2025, departing in the summer when he was not offered an extension on his contract.
In December 2024, he was involved in a major car crash that nearly cost him his life and, after surgery, underwent months of rehabilitation before returning to action with Jamaica in June the following year.
He didn’t play a minute under Potter, having been in rehab when the now-Sweden boss was appointed until he himself left the club. But that, according to Antonio, is because Potter never tried with him.
‘Graham never actually got to know me because I was doing rehab,’ he told The Times. ‘I’d be at the club for a week, then away again and he never got to experience me as a person, never really got to see me on a full pitch, just me hobbling around on a field after an accident where my leg’s not the best.
Michail Antonio (pictured) has criticised Graham Potter for ‘not getting to know me’ before he was released by West Ham
Potter (pictured) was manager of West Ham when Antonio was released after 10 years
‘So he didn’t actually experience the person Michail Antonio or the player Michail Antonio — and now he’s making a decision on my life.’
Antonio had played a key role under a number of other managers until his accident, which came when Julen Lopetegui was manager.
The Spaniard, though, only lasted from July 2024 to January 2025, and used the 36-year-old regularly in his sides.
‘If Lopetegui was there, I know for a fact I’d have got another contract,’ Antonio continued. ‘Whereas Graham wasn’t doing well, his record wasn’t good, he’s coming into a new season and making a decision about me and the owners are going with him because they want to give him support.
‘Within two months of the season he’s been sacked, but he has made a decision on my life. Now I’m no longer at a club I love. What hurt me most was I was there during the whole pre-season but they didn’t even want to give me a minute on the pitch to say goodbye to the fans. They offered me a terrible contract that was until January but said I’m not allowed to play a first-team game, I’m only allowed to play for the under-21s. Why on earth would I sign that?
‘When I went to him, he’d be like, “It’s not me, it’s the chairman”, but I’d go to the chairman and he’d say, “It’s Graham Potter, he doesn’t want you”. I knew it was Graham.’
Antonio went on to sign for Al-Sailiya, and now works as a pundit for the likes of the BBC and TNT Sports.
