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Newcastle United’s Saudi owners have received £250m from Saudi premier league side Al-Ahli, a team they also happen to own, in a transfer move that has shocked the footballing world.
Saint-Maximin has been a fan favourite at St James Park since his £18m move from Nice in 2019, but after just five goals in his last sixty games, there have been few teams interested in signing him.
Newcastle fan Simon Williams told us, “I knew Saint-Maximin was good, but he’s also quite inconsistent and has quite a lot of injuries, so I would have put his value at around £20m, tops – especially after just one goal in twenty odd games last year.
“I guess the Saudis just really wanted him, and when the Saudis are offered that sort of money by the Saudis, how could the Saudis say no?”
Critics have suggested that the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund is simply moving money from one pocket to another for no reason other than to help Newcastle’s Financial Fair Play position, a claim denied by Newcastle.
A spokesperson for Newcastle United said, “Like any other Premier League team, we place a value on every player on our books, and if another club makes a bid that equals or exceeds that value, then we would be happy to sell.
“You should not read anything into the fact that no one else has bid a tremendous amount of money for Saint-Maximin, a forward player with a low goal output who has never earned a full cap for France.
“And you should not read anything into the fact that the money we get from this transfer will help us buy players who will likely contribute far more for us in the Champions League.
“It’s all above board. Yes it is. Shut up.”
