Antonio: Clubs treat footballers like meat

Michael Antonio believes that clubs treat footballers like meat.

Idman.biz reports that the former West Ham and Jamaica international forward shared his views on the loyalty of footballers and the behavior of clubs against the backdrop of tensions between Newcastle and Alexander Isak.

The Swedish striker has been sidelined due to uncertainty about his future. Liverpool are interested in him.

35-year-old Antonio says: "My words may or may not be pleasing to people, but I will still say it. As a footballer, I see that loyalty is no longer present in this game.

I spent ten years at West Ham, just like other players. This loyalty is no longer permanent and I think that's fair, because clubs no longer treat footballers the way they used to.

Why should a footballer be loyal to a club? I understand loyalty to fans, but loyalty to a club – if a footballer is trying to develop, improve his life, achieve successes that he cannot achieve elsewhere... That's the situation. I think Isak just wants to get even better and he is doing everything he can to do that.

Today, football clubs treat footballers like meat. We are just meat for them. As soon as the quality drops, we are either sold or thrown away.

Before, when a footballer was in a club for years, you saw his human side. Now everything is about money: how much income can he bring to the club? If the club is thinking about money, why shouldn't the footballer think about it?"

Idman.biz