West Ham pay £100K to fly Michail Antonio home in private jet

Antonio has seven goals in 13 games so far this season

West Hame co-owner David Sullivan spent a reported £100,000 to charter a private jet to fly Michail Antonio back to London from Jamaica.

The striker was scheduled to return to England on Thursday ahead of training on Friday after representing Jamaica in their World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and the USA.

However, with the Hammers wanting Antonio to be present for training on Thursday (18 November) and in the best possible shape for their Premier League game at Wolves on Saturday afternoon, the club’s co-owner made the decision to fly him home early.

The 31-year-old was back in London on Wednesday evening, allowing him to train with his team-mates on Thursday.

The Jamaican international has been influential in West Ham’s impressive start to the season, scoring seven goals in 13 games in all competitions.

📹 | David Sullivan has personally arranged a plane for Michail Antonio so he can get back to West Ham early!⚒️#WHUFC | #COYI pic.twitter.com/uxom7c9oAb

— Isaac (@IsaacWHU_) November 17, 2021

It is thought that Antonio was keen to return to London as quickly as possible, hoping to be fit and ready for the Hammers’ game against Wolves at the weekend – where a draw or a win would see them rise to second in the table.

The forward took to Instagram to thank Sullivan for the gesture, expressing his gratitude for allowing him to come home earlier than planned.

Many have praised the gesture as the right way to look after one’s staff members. But questions remain over whether such actions can be justified with regard to the climate crisis.

“People aren’t willing to change because it’s going to hurt their pockets.”@LUFC striker @Patrick_Bamford calls on leaders and big business to take the necessary steps to halt the devastation of climate change#COP26 pic.twitter.com/04M0m0YqpF

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 5, 2021

Antonio scored in both of Jamaica’s games against El Salvador and the United States during the international break, with both of the matches finishing 1-1.