Premier League star Michail Antonio reveals he now pays £20,000 a year in car insurance after crashing his £210,000 Lamborghini into a front garden while dressed as SNOWMAN on Christmas Day in 2019 - and he feared the vehicle would 'blow up'

  • Michail Antonio has talked on his 2019 Christmas Day car crash for the first time
  • He smashed his £210,000 Lamborghini Huracan into a family bin shed in Balham
  • The West Ham star was dressed as a snowman to add to the embarrassment
  • He struggled for car insurance afterwards and had to go to a specialist company
  • Antonio now pays £20,000 annually to be able to drive his Mercedes-Benz G63 

West Ham forward Michail Antonio has spoken out for the first time since his infamous 2019 Christmas Day car crash, revealing the drastic and financial consequences of crashing his £210,000 Lamborghini.

Thirteen months ago, Premier League footballer Antonio, 30, crashed his Lamborghini Huracan into a bin shed of a family home in Balham, south London while dressed as a snowman after losing control of his car. 

It is believed he was on his way to the West Ham team hotel ahead of their Boxing Day clash against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - a game they would go on to lose 2-1 24 hours later.


Thankfully nobody was hurt following the front garden incident. However, it left Antonio - who earns £100,000-per-week in wages - with a totalled car and a great deal of embarrassment.

On Christmas Day 2019, Michail Antonio crashed his car into the garden of a house in London

On Christmas Day 2019, Michail Antonio crashed his car into the garden of a house in London

Antonio is seen climbing out of his £210,000 Lamborghini after crashing into a front garden

Antonio is seen climbing out of his £210,000 Lamborghini after crashing into a front garden

Antonio was dressed as a snowman following club training in the morning of that day

Antonio was dressed as a snowman following club training in the morning of that day

Over a year on, the 30-year-old has spoken publicly about the incident for the first time

Over a year on, the 30-year-old has spoken publicly about the incident for the first time

Over a year on, Antonio is now driving a Mercedes-Benz G63, although that proved difficult as insurance companies were unwilling to insure him. As a result, he had to seek a specialist company to allow him back on the road.

'I was struggling to get insurance this year,' he told the On the Judy Podcast. 'No-one wanted to insure me!

'I had to go to a specialist insurance company, so my insurance this year is a madness! I've got a G63 now. They were offering me £10,000 for an [Audi] A3 to insure, or get a G63 and pay double the price but get to drive a G63 instead of an A3.

'I'd rather pay £20,000 and drive a G63 rather than pay £10,000 and drive an A3.'

Antonio now has to pay £20,000 in car insurance to be able to drive his Mercedes-Benz G63

He had to go to a specialist insurance company to be insured on his Mercedes G63 (top left)

He had to go to a specialist insurance company to be insured on his Mercedes G63 (top left)

Speaking for the first time publicly about the crash, the 30-year-old went into detail about the events that unfolded. 

'It was Christmas Day. Still to this day it has hurt me. I miss that car. Basically, I was driving but it was a slippery road.

'In the car it corners nicely and holds the road, so I was going 30-35mph on a 30mph road. As it holds corners I think I don't need to break, I'm just going to go round the corner like I do all the time.

'But as I go round the corner, it skids. So as it skids, I s*** myself and I slam on the brakes - the worst thing you could do on ice as you just speed up when you're meant to just go with it kind of thing.

In December 2018 Antonio played a hilarious Christmas prank on team-mate Marko Arnautovic

In December 2018 Antonio played a hilarious Christmas prank on team-mate Marko Arnautovic

Arnautovic was walking to his car only for the Austrian to find his Mercedes covered in paper

Arnautovic was walking to his car only for the Austrian to find his Mercedes covered in paper

'So I slam on the brakes, skid and go up on the curb - but I don't really remember it, everything just happened so fast.

'Then smoke comes out of the front of the car, and the engine is in the back so I'm thinking 'the car is gonna blow up!', even though it's just the airbags.

'So I'm having to jump out of the passenger side of the tiny car. It's a madness.

'And the thing is, I was in a snowman costume as well. I don't get why I didn't take it off in there, sort it out.'

Despite the 2019 crash, he played for West Ham the next day as they lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace

Despite the 2019 crash, he played for West Ham the next day as they lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace

Antonio has revealed he tried to confiscate peoples' mobiles to stop the crash being leaked

Antonio has revealed he tried to confiscate peoples' mobiles to stop the crash being leaked

The crash caused an understandable commotion on the road as residents came out to see what had happened. And knowing he was fine, Antonio tried desperately to ensure the incident wouldn't go any further by confiscating peoples' mobile phones to stop them taking photographs. However, he forget to take one - to his detriment.

'I was confiscating people's phones saying 'Give me your phone! Give me your phone!' I was taking peoples' phones!' he continued.

'The only person's phone that I didn't take, was the owner of the house and she was the one that came out blogging. It wasn't even her garden!

'She lives around the corner, that was attached to the garden, but she sold the story saying 'Lamborghini in my garden', and then she sold the story again this year!'

He scored the matchwinner on Tuesday night as West Ham beat West Brom 2-1 to go seventh

He scored the matchwinner on Tuesday night as West Ham beat West Brom 2-1 to go seventh

On-the-pitch, Antonio is good form as West Ham sit seventh in the Premier League. After scoring the winner against in a 1-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday, he followed that up with the decisive strike on Tuesday night as David Moyes' side beat West Brom 2-1.

Antonio's car insurance was arranged by Matt Seldon, head of Pro-Sport at Berns Brett Ltd. Seldon commented: 'This was an interesting case. It was great working with Michail and his agent Mike Appiason. Michail was struggling to secure car insurance, and this is exactly what Berns Brett specialise in.'

Seldon, who can be found on Instagram at @msinsurance, added: 'Most insurers will not insure professional footballers but I have access to a number of specialists and have always managed to offer a quotation in every scenario. Footballers need to work with people they trust and that can help them with all their insurance needs.' 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.