Michail Antonio

Early career

Antonio was born in Wandsworth, Greater London. He began playing football as a youth at Tooting & Mitcham United Juniors at the age of 12 and remained there for six seasons. He was scouted and invited for a trial by Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14, though, his mother rejected the opportunity on his behalf and he remained with Tooting and Mitcham; he would also later unsuccessfully trial with both Brentford and Queens Park Rangers as a teenager. The Juniors' team was independent from Tooting & Mitcham United, whom he later signed for at the age of 17 years. He made his debut for the club in an away match against Wealdstone at the age of 18, scoring once in a 3–0 victory.

Reading

After just a handful of first-team appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United, Antonio signed for Championship club Reading on 28 October 2008 for an undisclosed fee, signing a deal until 2010. He rejoined Tooting on a month-long loan spell on 9 January 2009, with the loan extended for a further month on 11 February but he returned to Reading less than a week later on 17 February after being recalled by the club. Following his loan spell with Southampton in the summer of 2010, Antonio signed a fresh deal to keep him at Reading until 2013. He featured more regularly in the squad during the 2010–11 season, scoring one goal, against Burnley, in 24 appearances in all competitions.

Cheltenham Town (loan)

After being recalled from Tooting, Antonio was subsequently…

In March 2016, Antonio revealed that he had rejected the opportunity to play for Jamaica internationally and that he harboured an ambition of playing for England. On 28 August 2016, in new England manager Sam Allardyce's first squad, Antonio was called up for the first time, for a 2018 World Cup qualification match away to Slovakia; he was an unused substitute in the game on 4 September. On 16 March 2017, Antonio was called up by new England manager Gareth Southgate's squad for the friendly match against Germany and the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania that month; however, Antonio withdrew from the squad after picking up a hamstring injury. In February 2021, Antonio was again approached by Jamaica to consider playing for them at international level. He was said to be passionate about playing and helping them reach the 2022 World Cup. The following month, he was reported to be in the process of obtaining his Jamaican passport. Later in March, it was reported that Antonio had decided he was going to represent Jamaica internationally, ahead of the squad being announced for an upcoming international friendly against the United States. Despite this, Antonio was not included in the 19-man squad when this was announced. The BBC reported that Antonio was still to decide whether to switch, while Talksport reported on the same day that he had pledged to play for Jamaica. On 18 June 2021, Antonio was named in Jamaica's 60-man provisional squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.…

Antonio is a player who has been touted for his versatility throughout his time at West Ham. Antonio has played as a right back, right midfielder, winger and striker during his years at the club. Antonio said in 2016 however that his preferred position was on the wing.

Antonio is divorced and has six children. In February 2019, Antonio suggested that clubs whose fans engage in racial abuse should be deducted points. On 7 December 2024, Antonio was reported by his club, West Ham, to have been involved in a road traffic accident after crashing his Ferrari in Epping, with the nature of the accident and details of his condition "to be issued in due course". He was later confirmed to be in a stable condition at a central London hospital. On 8 December it was confirmed that he had undergone surgery on a lower limb fracture. He was discharged from hospital at the end of December with his injuries expected to keep him out of football for at least a year. He returned to playing on 17 June 2025 when he came on as an 85th-minute substitute for Jamaica in a 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup game against Guatemala.

Media

In August 2025, Antonio was announced as a pundit for TNT Sports for the 2025–26 season.