When Elite Sport and Real Life Collide, a groundbreaking new football memoir for 2026

Michail Antonio wants you to know what it actually feels like to earn a living from playing professional football.

'Humans Not Robots is fantastic … brilliant … eye-opening … enjoyable' The Sunday Times

'Not since Tony Cascarino's seminal Full Time, which is now 26 years old, have I read a player's memoir that so successfully shows that footballers are just people too.' Jonathan Northcroft, The Sunday Times

'Far from the usual player autobiography. A book to give food for thought for every football fan.' Jeff Stelling

'Raw and entertaining', Jacob Steinberg, The Guardian

Michail Antonio has been around the block and done the hard yards, breaking through the tough way, via grassroots non-league football not through an Academy – a testament to his resilience and commitment.

He wants you to know the truth of existing in a world where professional football and ‘real life’ collide. What happens when life inevitably gets in the way and has a negative impact on performance? What is it like to feel the full dehumanising force of his harshest online critics and yet still be expected to perform as if he doesn’t have a care in the world?

With intelligence and thoughtfulness, his book uncovers this unique way of earning a living, peeling back its layers and charting the daily realities.

He wants to show you the very ‘human’ aspects of life as an elite sportsperson, good and bad – the parts of the job that the fans don’t see or even consider.

More than anything, though, Michail Antonio would like you to see professional footballers as humans, not robots.