Harry Kane’s nightmare trophy wait certain to be extended after Bundesliga final day meltdown for Bayern Munich

WHEN highly paid footballers moan about their workload, most people roll their eyes, mutter about having a ‘real job’ then get on with their day.

But there is something about Michail Antonio’s concerning revelations about his mental health that strike a different chord.

Charismatic, engaging, outwardly confident and built like a prize bull, surely nothing can touch such a successful athlete with a life most young men dream of?

So for West Ham’s 67-goal, all-time leading Premier League scorer, a veteran of more than 16 seasons in the game, to admit he has cracked, is a big deal.

One of the drivers behind the 34-year-old striker’s reluctant advance into therapy is the now relentless football calendar, coupled with the similarly incessant levels of scrutiny.

Trying to put the ball in the net for a top-flight team is a minor part of the job.

Simply wondering where your passport is, or feeling secure enough to turn on your phone without receiving 50 gigabytes of abuse, is taking over from the role you have been hired to do.

Antonio revealed he is now divorced, and what’s behind it is his business.

But one of his old team-mates, Robert Snodgrass, once told me how he spent an entire season commuting from Essex to Aston Villa while on loan, forcing him to eat at motorway service stations en route.

His reward for trying to be a good husband and dad by being at home each night?

To be singled out for putting on weight by then Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini.

It’s ironic that Jamaica international Antonio chose to air his deepest-held secrets on the High Performance podcast, because his struggle to cope with the “constant” of football has significantly harmed his game.
Yes, top footballers are paid vast amounts but are we getting to a situation where that is not really the point?

The latest cry for help from someone who should be enjoying every waking moment could not be better timed.

Just 24 hours earlier, Fifa’s announcement that the spectre of the dreaded ‘39th game’ is being revived must send a shudder through every Premier League dressing room.

To read more from Andrew Dillon, click here.