· March 13 2025, 18:30
We called it the day it was announced. When Allan Saint-Maximin signed for Turkish side Fenerbahce to play under Jose Mourinho we predicted that the former Newcastle United man would be in for a rough time.
Mourinho and Saint-Maximin are two huge personalities and we could see the clash coming from miles away. If we were the lookout on the Titanic then 11 Oscars would have gone elsewhere in 1998.
Aside from the personalities, Allan Saint-Maximin often seems like he has other priorities other than football. Helios, anyone? And we knew that if he wasn't 100% focused then Mourinho would tear him to shreds.
Recently, Maxi has been posting cryptic posts on social media talking about liars etc, following a failed move away from Fenerbahce to Napoli in January.
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Jose Mourinho is fed up of Allan Saint-Maximin's crap
After a bright start in Turkey, Saint-Maximin has barely featured since the turn of the year and has now been left behind as the Turkish club travel to Scotland to take on Rangers tonight.
Upon learning he'd been dropped, Maxi took to social media to post another cryptic message which read “It will take more than this to defeat me. When a lie takes the elevator, the truth takes the stairs. It takes longer but it always arrives in the end. If God is with us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31.”
This prompted Jose Mourinho to fire back at Saint-Maximin via SoFoot.com and it wasn't pretty.
"I didn't know Saint-Maximin had a gift for poetry. I'm not bad at it either. When a footballer works well, works hard and trains every day, he can be in good form and climb up the stairs.
"He doesn't need to use the lift. By contrast, if a player doesn't train well, turns up late, is overweight and isn't ready to play a match, then he needs to use the lift - as he'll soon get tired on the stairs."
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Allan Saint-Maximin's brother, Kurtys has even chimed in
Allan Saint-Maximin's brother has even joined in now, defending the former Newcastle United winger, saying:
"Being special means showing class when the moment calls for it, not kicking a soldier when they're down.
"In life, you have to own up to your choices. Feeling targeted proves that you have something to reproach yourself for.”
As someone who escaped the Cult of Maximin, I'm siding with Mourinho here. Yes Allan Saint-Maximin was fun to watch, but he was equally, if not more, frustrating.
He has a special gift, but that doesn't exclude him from putting the effort in and Jose Mourinho has seen right through him. We'll not be expecting any hugs when his loan ends and he heads back to Al-Ahli at the end of the season.