Jose Mourinho fires brutal jibe at Allan Saint-Maximin after squad axing

The Fenerbahce boss has controversially excluded Saint-Maximin from the squad for Thursday's pivotal Europa League second leg against Rangers.

Despite playing in the first leg, which Fenerbahçe lost 3-1, the former Newcastle star finds himself sidelined.

Saint-Maximin took to social media to express his frustration, stating: "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," he said.

The former Manchester United manager, Mourinho, didn't take well to Saint-Maximin's words.

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He responded: "I didn't know Maxi had a talent for poetry. He used a poem about life and stairs. I'm good at that too.

"I can only say that when a footballer trains well, he will become fit, can climb stairs, and does not need an elevator, but if he doesn't train well if he comes in late and is overweight, he needs an elevator to go up because he gets tired very quickly on the stairs."

His cutting remarks ignited yet another response from the player, rejecting Mourinho's insinuations about his weight.

He posted an image of his current weight on Instagram, accompanied by the words, "Lies produce flowers but not fruit."

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Saint-Maximin's brother, Kurtys, also took to social media, sharing his frustration.

"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."

The Frenchman began his career in France, rising through the ranks at Saint-Étienne and Nice, before moving to Newcastle United in 2019.

He quickly became a beloved figure at St. James' Park, making 111 appearances and scoring 12 goals.

In 2023, he moved to Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League and then to the Turkish side Fenerbahçe.

Mourinho is known for his unfiltered honesty, having recently criticised his players for their lacklustre performance.

"There is, I think, a penalty, but to speak about referees after this performance, I don't think is ethical," Mourinho said.

"Our performance was bad overall. Defensively, we made incredible mistakes.

"They defend a lot with a very low block and then dangerous counters, and we had no pace to follow that.

"I have to say that we deserve a punishment for this result. If someone wants to ask me if it's over, no, I don't think it's over."

Mourinho joined Fenerbahçe in June 2024 after parting ways with Roma.

This is not the first time a manager has stirred controversy by commenting on a player's weight; Pep Guardiola has done so in the past.

The Man City boss remarked, following Kalvin Phillips' return from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, "he's not injured; he arrived overweight. I don't know why."

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Guardiola later apologised to the City player, who is currently on loan at Ipswich, but Phillips has since voiced the frustration those comments caused him.

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In an episode of 'My Mate's a Footballer,' Phillips revealed: "Every club that I'd go to, where I spoke to the manager and the nutritionist and stuff like that, they'd always speak about weight before they'd say anything else.

Rangers vs Fenerbahce kicks off at 8pm on Thursday.