Antoine Semenyo has revealed that walking away from football after his failed trial at Crystal Palace brought unexpected peace, he didn’t miss the game at all.
At just 15, Semenyo spent eight months training with the Eagles, thinking he was close to earning a deal. That hope vanished in a flash, after hitting the post in a key game, his father spotted a manager shaking his head in the distance. Semenyo wouldn’t know the full story until years later.
“Obviously, I was a bit emotional, a bit upset that I didn’t get signed but he didn’t say anything to me,” Semenyo told Showmax. “It was only a couple of years ago that he actually mentioned it to me. And I look back and laugh now.”
After rejections from Arsenal, Spurs, and Millwall, Semenyo briefly stepped away from football. The break helped.
“Not really, to be honest. I had a lot of time with friends and family. I was able to go out with friends. I’d be able to go out with family as well. So, I didn’t really miss it too much, no,”
He later joined Bristol City’s academy in 2017.
