The two engaged in a war of words on social media after Mourinho dropped the former Newcastle United forward from Fenerbahçe’s Europa League game against Rangers on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
Following his exclusion, Saint-Maximin took to social media, posting, “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.”
After the game, Mourinho responded to the post, calling Saint-Maximin overweight and sarcastically praising his poetry skills.
“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, and 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, and is not ready to play, he needs an elevator to go up because he gets tired quickly on the stairs,” Mourinho replied.
Despite winning 2-0 on the night, Fenerbahçe were eliminated after losing 3-2 on penalties, allowing Rangers to advance to the Europa League quarterfinals.
