Jose Mourinho has delivered a savage “overweight” response to Allan Saint-Maximin questioning his selection calls for Fenerbahce’s clash with Rangers.
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- French forward dropped by Portuguese coach
- Will play no part in clash with Gers at Ibrox
- Europa League quarter-final spot up for grabs
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Turkish giants will be back in Europa League action on Thursday when taking in the second leg of a last-16 encounter with Scottish opposition that they currently trail 3-1 on aggregate. Mourinho announced his squad for that trip to Ibrox on Wednesday, with Saint-Maximin being overlooked.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The former Newcastle winger, who is on loan at Fener from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, posted on social media after learning that he had been dropped on his 28th birthday: “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.”
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WHAT JOSE MOURINHO SAID
It did not take long for Mourinho to bite back, with the outspoken ‘Special One’ saying in an Instagram post of his own: “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. 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.”
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DID YOU KNOW?
Saint-Maximin has sought to rubbish any suggestion that he is too heavy to perform properly at present, saying alongside an image of his current weight and that from previous years: “Lies produce flowers but not fruit.”
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