Newcastle United fan favourite has become tangled in a war of words with Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce.
It has been just shy of two years since Allan Saint-Maximin left Newcastle to join PIF-owned Al-Alhi in a £23m transfer move.
The French winger became a fan favourite at St James’ Park during his four-year spell at the club, but Eddie Howe decided to cash in on the now 28-year-old.
Since leaving Tyneside, Allan Saint-Maximin has struggled to settle at a new club. Just one year after joining Al-Alhi, Saint-Maximin left on loan to Fenerbahce.
There, he has now teamed up with legendary manager Jose Mourinho, who was linked to Newcastle in November. However, their relationship together has been extremely frosty.
Photo by Ahmad Mora - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Jose Mourinho blasts unfit Allan Saint-Maximin
Steve Bruce said Saint-Maximin was his “best player”, but his form has plummeted since leaving Newcastle.
Now at Fenerbahce, Saint-Maximin has been dropped by Mourinho. He stayed home for their Europa League clash against Rangers, which sparked a war of words between the pair.
After being dropped, Saint-Maximin took to Instagram with a post that 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,”
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
As reported by The Mirror, Mourinho has now replied in typical Mourinho fashion.
“I didn’t know Saint-Maximin was talented in poetry. I’m not bad in that regard either. When a football player works well, works hard, trains every day, he is fit and can climb the stairs. He doesn’t need an elevator,” Mourinho said.
“However, if a player doesn’t train well, arrives late, is overweight, is not ready to play, he needs an elevator to go up. Because he gets tired quickly on the stairs.”
Mourinho did not hide away from questioning Saint-Maximin’s fitness levels, which is something he occasionally struggled with at Newcastle too.
There was no denying his talent, but Saint-Maximin’s injury record at Newcastle was concerning.
Saint-Maximin missed over 40 games through injury, and often he would have to be slowly reintroduced as he re-built his fitness.
Back in 2022, Howe said it was a “disaster” whenever Saint-Maximin was unavailable because the team sorely missed his talent.
“For me, if he is unavailable at any time, it is a disaster, because he’s unique and he’s got those skills that any defender doesn’t want to play against,” Howe said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
READ MORE: Allan Saint-Maximin sends four-word Newcastle United message ahead of Carabao Cup final
“Now, we’re just building him fitness-wise back to his best levels. Being the player he is, he needs to be able to sprint repeatedly at high levels.”
Saint-Maximin could burst into life and cut defences to pieces, but he does rely on his speed an explosiveness. If he is unfit in Turkey, it’s no surprise that Mourinho is unhappy.