Former Newcastle United man Allan Saint-Maximin has made his competitive debut for new club Al Ahli and in the post-match interview spoke about his relationship with the Geordie faithful.
Allan Saint-Maximin wore the number 97 shirt for Al Ahli with Maxi printed on the back as his side romped to a 3-1 win in Jeddah over Al Hazm thanks to a hattrick from former Liverpool forward Roberto Firminho.
The sale of Saint-Maximin is still a sore point for many Newcastle fans and he’s still mourned on social media as if he’d passed away, but fans can take some solace in the fact that the man himself hasn’t stopped talking about Newcastle either.
Saint-Maximin will never forget the Newcastle fans
In fairness, the clip from journalist Andrew Hankinson on X does suggest that Saint-Maximin had been asked about Newcastle, but the Frenchman was more than happy to talk about them again.
In the interview, Saint-Maximin said of the fans: “I love them. That’s life, as I always said the most important things are the fans and the club. I’m not bigger than the club. If the club think that’s the best option for them, and for sure Al Ahli gave me a great opportunity as well. If both parties are happy with that and if this can help Newcastle to finish in a better position or win something this season I will be very happy.
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“For sure the Newcastle supporter will always stay there [his heart] I always think about them because they give me everything and without them I would never have had that opportunity to sign with Al Ahli so I will never forget and I hope they will never forget what I did for them.”
The fans will never forget Saint-Maximin either
It does feel like the connection between Newcastle and Saint-Maximin is one that’s built to last and whether he returns to us as a player, which I highly doubt, I definitely don’t think we’ve seen the last of him in and around the club in some capacity.
Newcastle fans will never forget what he did for us, even those of us who felt the time was right for him to move on, it was never about his history, it was about what was best for the club moving forward. We all loved him, but a change was in the air.
We’ll see you down the road, Maxi.