Top News

Very few players have got to witness West Ham’s recent modern-day milestones quite like Michail Antonio.

The Hammers forward spent ten years in east London, a period that saw him involved in the emotional goodbye to the Boleyn Ground and the later shift to the London Stadium, while he was also part of the squad when the club lifted their first major trophy in 40 years.

Across that spell, Antonio built up a long list of memories with the club, and many of them are likely to stay with him for life, even after he eventually hangs up his boots.

“Our final game at the Boleyn Ground,” Antonio tells FourFourTwo when asked, apart from the Conference League triumph, what his favourite memory with the Irons is.

“The atmosphere when we walked out onto the pitch and the way we beat Manchester United was unbelievable.

“It’s between that or the game where we had to win in Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The atmosphere in those two games was amazing.”

When asked about his favourite goal, the 36-year-old takes a moment before replying.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

“Probably scoring West Ham’s first goal in the Premier League at the London Stadium,” he says. “Simply because it made me the first.”

Another moment that stood out for the Jamaica international was team-mate Jarrod Bowen’s goal in the Conference League final.

“Unbelievable,” he says. “In three years we got to the semi-finals of the Europa League, the final of the Conference League and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“I knew Jarrod was going to score and the stadium just erupted. That feeling was unbelievable.”

Antonio has already spoken about the mixed emotions of that night, as he was going through a divorce at the time, with West Ham’s win providing something like an emotional release valve.

“I was going through a difficult time, so even though I was on a high in my football career, personally I was on a low. Once we won, I went over and hugged my brother – we cried in each other’s arms.”

Michail Antonio’s autobiography 'Humans Not Robots', published by HarperCollins, is available now