sport news Michail Antonio is outspoken scrapper with West Ham's European hopes on his ... trends now

Michail Antonio is on the cusp of European glory after a remarkable journey that saw him transition from non-league football to the professional ranks at West Ham. But, it's not be plain sailing for the 33-year-old. 

Antonio's hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons as of late. He was heard criticising his team-mate Gianluca Scamacca and taking a swipe at David Moyes during an appearance on Filthy Fellas after using his own podcast to reveal he was in talks with other Premier League clubs during the January transfer window. 

Antonio also slated David de Gea for conceding against West Ham, before mocking Richarlison for his over-the-top shirtless celebration during Tottenham's clash with Liverpool. 

But, the outspoken character has managed to keep his place in the West Ham squad - despite a rocky start to the 2022-2023 campaign - and could even start this evening's Conference League final against Fiorentina. 

So, Mail Sport have decided to look at all of Antonio's controversial moments from this season before outlining why Moyes must keep him in the squad for their first major European final in 47 years.

Antonio criticises team-mate Gianluca Scamacca and isn't too complimentary about David Moyes' tactics

Antonio landed himself in hot water after criticising his team-mate Gianluca Scamacca. The 33-year-old striker also took aim at David Moyes' tactics during the same interview. 

He said: 'I'm going to be honest with you lot. He's [Scamacca] actually quality. He is a quality player. The problem is, he can't play the way the gaffer [Moyes] plays. He needs a different type of manager to play his type of football.'

Antonio went on to add: 'He needs a manager [where] he can play and have other players come off him and stuff like that. You can see, the ball comes into him and it sticks, he's tidy.

'But how David Moyes plays is more like if you're up front, you're dealing with scraps and you've got to be more of a fighter, and that's not him.' 

West Ham signed Scamacca after a fine season with Sassuolo in Serie A which saw him score 16 goals in 38 games and break into the Italy national team. However, he's struggled to replicate the same form in England. 

The 23-year-old did find the net five times in nine appearances in the Europa Conference League but has been out with a knee injury since January - causing Moyes all sorts of issues. 

Scamacca's arrival was meant to offer cover and competition to Antonio. But, his long-term injury forced Moyes to splash out more cash on Danny Ings late in the January window.

Antonio claims a lack of pitch time at West Ham sent him spiraling into depression 

Antonio's mental health deteriorated after being left out of West Ham's starting XI. The 33-year-old said he felt 'powerless' and even revealed how he wanted to walk away from the sport.

Speaking about his struggles with depression, Antonio said: 'I'm a person that normally bounces back from things, quite positive and never let much hold me down. There was one time where it really affected me.

'I'm a person that like to control things – if I feel that I can control things then I'll deal with things. But this time where it did hit me, I felt like I fell into a depression.

'I started the very first game of the season. The next game, I wasn't in the squad. The next game, I started. The next game, I wasn't in the squad. Then I came off the bench. The next game I started and got pulled off at half-time. And that just kept happening.

'Even if I was playing well, it just kept happening to me. No matter what I was doing, I wasn't good enough. If I was having a great game, it wasn't good enough. So I just felt powerless, and there was nothing I could do.'

Antonio went on to explain the pressures he placed on himself to become a regular starter at West Ham, and that these demands caused him to break down in tears as he explained fears about retiring from football during his peak career years. 

'I'm a person that if I'm playing well, then I expect to play because I'm doing the job that you're putting me out there to do. If I'm not, then it's not a problem, I'll be on the bench and wait for the opportunity and then I'll take it and be back in the team. 

'But the fact they were putting me in and pulling me out and just basically running me around the shops; I couldn't deal with that because it was alien to me.

'There was one day where that kept happening to me, and I was just laying in bed and tears started streaming from my eyes and I couldn't control them. I don't like showing emotion and I like dealing with things, but tears were just falling from my eyes in bed.

'My Mrs was laying next to me in bed and I didn't say anything, just tears falling – she looked up and said 'Are you alright?' and I said yeah, I'm fine, but she said 'You can't be fine, you're crying', and I just said 'I don't know if I want to play football anymore'.

'I'm a very positive person and if something is not making me happy but making me sad, then change it. I said to her 'I don't know if I want to play anymore, I'm thinking about retiring', because I knew if I went to West Ham and said I want to leave, they weren't going to want to sell me.

'So I was honestly just thinking about leaving football and retiring.'

Antonio went on to explain how talking about his feelings with his family helped. He said:  'Me talking to my Mrs, my brother and my agent took a bit of the weight off me, enough for me to keep going to training and stuff like that, but what really made a difference for me was being able to go out there and play, and kept playing consistently.

'It became more of a norm as a footballer – when you're playing well you get your opportunity and you keep playing. When life and football became more normal, then I dealt with it and

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