Allan Saint-Maximin

Allan Irénée Saint-Maximin (born 12 March 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.

He previously played for Saint-Étienne, Monaco, Nice and Newcastle United.

Saint-Maximin was born on 12 March 1997 in Châtenay-Malabry, a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris.

The youngest of three children, his father, Alex, hailed from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and his mother, Nadege, was born in French Guiana in South America.

At the time of his birth, his family resided in the town of Meudon where Saint-Maximin grew up playing football, mainly on the streets with his friends or on the pitch in Ris-Orangis whilst his parents work; his father worked at Paris Diderot University and his mother stayed late as director of a school in Meudon.

From an early age, Saint-Maximin learnt to speak English, as encouraged by his mother, in order to achieve his dream of playing in the Premier League.

Growing up in a comfortable Christian home, Saint-Maximin, in his early school years, was given €10 by his mother every day, which he used to buy sweets for his school friends who could not afford such luxury – a sign of his early generosity.

He took a liking towards Karate Kid, tennis and manga, all of whom were significant influences on his trademark headband.

In football, Saint-Maximin joined his first club, TU Verrieres-le-Buisson, where he briefly played for a few months before joining US Ris-Orangis with his older brother, Kurtys.

Under coach Didier Demonchy, Saint-Maximin trained with older kids despite being five years old during his time in Ris-Orangis.

Demonchy recalled his talents, stating, "His talent was innate,” adding, “Usually, five-year-olds make mistakes or fall over. Not Allan. He was doing everything right and nothing was random."

Saint-Maximin would spend three years at the club before making a move to AC Boulogne-Billancourt, where he attracted attention from various scouts in France.

He was noted for his early talent and precociousness leading him to sign for Saint-Étienne in 2011, after being picked up by a scout who saw him play at a U13 tournament in Meudon.

Another offer came in with Paris club Paris Saint-Germain, which included a house for his parents and a big signing bonus of more than €100,000, but was later rejected by Saint-Maximin, who had already committed to Saint-Étienne.

At the age of 14, Saint-Maximin left Paris and moved permanently to Saint-Etienne, where he was looked after by Paul and Nicole Cavallero.

Impressing in the youth ranks, Saint-Maximin signed his first professional contract with Saint-Étienne on 1 July 2013.

At the age of 16 years, 5 months, and 17 days, he made his club debut on 29 August as a substitute in a Europa League play-off match, coming on for Franck Tabanou before his side suffered a 1–0 loss to Esbjerg fB at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

His debut made him the third youngest player for Saint-Étienne after Laurent Roussey (16 years and 2 months) and Laurent Paganelli (15 years, 10 months and 3 days).

Three days later, Saint-Maximin made his Ligue 1 debut at home in a 2–1 win against Bordeaux, becoming one of the youngest players to debut in the league.

In his first season with the club, he played 138 minutes in 5 games under Christophe Galtier.

Saint-Maximin made 11 appearances for the club, which included 9 Ligue 1 and 2 Europa League appearances during the 2014–15 season.

On 7 February 2015, Saint-Maximin extended his contract to June 2019 with Saint-Étienne, having been promised more playing time.

However, having managed only 16 league appearances, along with Championnat National appearances with the second team, Saint-Maximin sought to leave the club, feeling unwanted due to his limited opportunities with the first team.

In an interview with France Football he discussed on his departure, stating, "I did everything to impose myself in Sainté with good matches against OM, Bordeaux and Lille. Afterwards, I alternated between the CFA and the stands. At first, I thought I was learning the trade, and then it became exhausting."

On 31 July 2015, Saint-Maximin joined Monaco, signing a five-year contract after completing a €5 million transfer fee.

He was immediately loaned to German club Hannover 96 the same day, already present in his first training session with the club that morning.

The next day, Saint-Maximin made his unofficial debut at HDI Arena in a 1–0 exhibition loss to Sunderland, a week prior to Hannover's DFB-Pokal fixture against Hessen Kassel, where he made his competitive debut.

Following his club bow, Saint-Maximin was benched in the season opener against Darmstadt 98 on 15 August, making his league debut a week later, whilst utilised as an attacking midfielder, in a 1–0 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

He scored his first goal for the club on 5 December in a 3–1 defeat to Schalke at Arena AufSchalke.

Eight days later, he earnt his first start for Hannover in the league match against Hoffenheim where his side lost 1–0.

In January 2016, during the mid-season break, Saint-Maximin would miss 96's friendly matches in Belek, Turkey, to be with his pregnant wife who was expecting their first child.

Saint-Maximin would register 16 league appearances with 1 goal during the season.

However, an incident cut his loan short.

In April, Saint-Maximin was involved in a car accident that collided with a tram, injuring 1 person then presented a fake driving license, leading to an investigation on suspicion of forgery, driving without a license and negligent bodily harm.

As a result, he was dropped from the squad under Daniel Stendel, not making a single appearance until his return to France.

By the end of the season, Hannover was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after finishing bottom and ending their 14 years in the top flight of Germany.

On 28 July 2016, Saint-Maximin was sent on loan to Ligue 1 club Bastia for a season.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win over Lorient on 20 August.

Saint-Maximin didn't score again until on 10 December, netting a brace in Bastia's 2–0 league victory against Metz, ending their 10 game winless streak.

In January 2017, Saint-Maximin's number was changed from 6 to 10, following Lyes Houri loan exit to Roda.