Qatar Stars League side Al-Sailiya have confirmed the signing of Michail Antonio, with the former West Ham striker saying he had to "swallow his ego" to find a new club.

Antonio has not played club football since he was involved in a car accident in December 2024, which left him with multiple leg fractures and required a three-week hospital stay. 

Antonio, who is West Ham's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League with 68 goals, was released by the Hammers last August, and his only competitive action since his crash came with Jamaica at the 2025 Gold Cup.

The 35-year-old trained with Brentford in order to maintain fitness ahead of signing for Al-Sailiya, having initially been frustrated by his failure to find a new home in England. 

"My agent kept calling clubs, and the same thing happened – clubs wanted me to train first," Antonio told BBC Sport.

"With the ego I had, I said, 'I'm not coming to train. You've seen me play with Jamaica, you've seen my past 10 years. I shouldn't have to train to get a contract.' 

"Clubs said, 'if you don't train, we won't sign you'. After staying at West Ham, training with the under-21s and going away with Jamaica, my agent said, 'you're going to have to train and prove your fitness.'

"I had to swallow my ego – that's how I ended up at Brentford. I trained with them for two weeks."

Al-Sailiya are currently 10th in the 12-team Stars League, only one point above bottom club Al-Shahania.