West Ham‘s incredible European journey is over after David Moyes’ men fell to a 3-1 aggregate defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals.
Following the 1-0 second-leg loss at Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday night, several Hammers players took to social media to address disappointed supporters.
But while they all described their disappointment at not being able to reach the club’s first European final since 1976, they also expressed their pride at being able to take supporters on an expected journey that brought historic victories against the likes of Sevilla and Lyon along the way.
Striker Michail Antonio took to Instagram on Friday morning to reveal his “pain and heartache” but then admitted that he “will always feel pride” when looking back at what he and his teammates achieved in the Europa League.
He posted: “The pain and heartache of last night is hard to take.
“We wanted more than anything to get to the final and it’s devastating to have fallen short. But, when I look back at this season in Europe I will always feel pride.
“The players, the staff, the fans this club, we stood tall and will keep pushing to achieve great things.”
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Antonio has scored 11 goals in 44 outings in all competitions for West Ham this season, which is both the most appearances and goals he’s delivered in a single season since he signed from Nottingham Forest in 2015.
Seven years on from making the switch to east London, the winger-turned-striker has registered 59 goals and 37 assists in 225 first-team appearances.
