Insider: West Ham have made ‘massive’ move after Michail Antonio ‘retirement’ reveal
Premier League clubs like West Ham have made “massive strides” in their holistic support for players after Michail Antonio revealed he came close to retirement due to mental health struggles.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
Antonio told CALM’s Under the Skin podcast earlier this week (15 November) that he fell into a “depression” at the beginning of the 2018-19 season that saw him contemplate retirement.
The 32-year-old changed his mind after talking it through with his partner, brother and agent.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Dinnery told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“It was almost a bit of a taboo subject, particularly in the men’s game.
“The perception was that if you came out and expressed concerns or had mental health issues you were somehow weak so there was a reluctance to do so.
“Back in 2020, the Premier League released their mental health in football declaration and that really brought it to the forefront and clubs are a lot more aware and want to deal with it.
“Inherently, you always associate football clubs as taking care of your physical aspects, your fitness and ability to play football.
“It’s that phycological element to the game that was maybe overlooked.
“A lot of the time there is support available but maybe these organisations and support mechanisms don’t have the platform or exposure for the players to access it.
“The well-being of the players is more important than anything. You can talk about the physicality but if you are not in the right mindset you are not going to train well, make the right decisions or be able to perform well.
“Providing that holistic all-round support has become more of a priority for clubs now and there have been massive strides in recent times.”
In other news, Gianluca Scamacca should be getting a ban as a West Ham controversy is missed by the BBC cameras.