The Jamaica international has joined Qatari outfit Al-Sailiya on a two-month deal until the end of the season.
The forward told the BBC: “I’ve still got the qualities I had in the Premier League for the past 10 years.
“It shows, because every single manager was putting a contract in front of me once I trained with them.
“But there were managers and clubs who refused to look at me because of what happened – the accident, the injury.
“Some owners went against it.
“In football, the manager can want you, but it’s the owner’s money.
“My agent kept calling clubs and the same thing happened — clubs wanted me to train first.
“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 again, my agent said: ‘You’re going to have to train, prove your fitness.’
“I had to swallow my ego – that’s how I ended up at Brentford.
“I trained with them for two weeks.”
Brentford heart-break
Antonio was all set to sign for Brentford before Christmas before suffering a calf strain.
Antonio explained: “When I found out I’d torn my calf the day before signing for Brentford, I laid in bed for two days.
“First day, I was just crying. The second day, I just didn’t want to get out of bed.
“I thought: ‘I’m back where I want to be, I’m back in the Premier League.’
“And then it happened again with Leicester.
“I was meant to return to Leicester but they didn’t want me back in because they didn’t want a relapse on their books.
“So I trained alone for a week and then went into Charlton.”
World Cup target
It was Mason Holgate, formerly of Everton, who recommended Al-Sailiya to his Jamaica teammate. The defender is on-loan at Al-Sailiya from Qatari rivals Al-Gharafa.
Antonio is now targeting this month's World Cup playoff for Jamaica against New Caledonia.
He added: “Whatever happens in the summer, happens. I need to focus on the first goal — playing games and being fit.”