Allan Saint-Maximin: A long road back to Ligue 1
Seven years after leaving Ligue 1 McDonald's, Allan Saint-Maximin is back and proving he can make the difference for his new club, RC Lens. Learn more about his long journey and how he has allowed Le Sang et Or to keep dreaming of a double
Four clubs in four years
Born in the Parisian suburb of Châtenay-Malabry, Saint-Maximin was a precocious talent, and after impressing at local side Boulogne-Billancourt, he agreed to join Saint-Étienne in 2011, at the age of 14. A regular international with France at youth level, he would break into the first team in relatively short order, becoming Les Verts' youngest-ever top flight player at just 16. While he featured sparingly that season, his promise was evident, and AS Monaco would sign him in 2015, before sending him out on successive loan spells to first German side Hannover 96 and then SC Bastia, the Corsicans still at that point playing in the top flight.
Blocked by the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Thomas Lemar, on the back of Monaco's title-winning season, he decided to depart with an eye towards first-team football. His last move within France was a surprising one, though, as he left the Principality for their bitter rivals Nice for what was a club-record €12M fee in 2017. In his two seasons at the Allianz Riviera, he continued to burnish his reputation, his maverick abilities taking centre stage under Lucien Favre. However, the departure of Favre that summer -- with the far more pragmatic Patrick Vieira as his replacement -- meant that Les Aiglons would be far less eye-catching, and even if Saint-Maximin had a fine individual season, he chafed at the demands of the former France international's style, and leapt at the next summer's chance to move abroad.
Saint-Maximin’s show 🤸💫 pic.twitter.com/IOiPdOZcJX
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 21, 2026
A cult hero in the northeast
Joining Newcastle at a low ebb in their recent history, with fans unhappy with both the football under Steve Bruce and the ownership of Mike Ashley, Saint-Maximin was a ray of light in the northeast of England. Speaking to the Athletic, his mother recounted that the choice was an easy one, saying, “He wanted to go somewhere he would play, not to sit on the bench. He also knew that French players like Yohan Cabaye, Laurent Robert, David Ginola and Yoan Gouffran had done well there."
With Ashley eventually having moved on, he continued to impress, and helped the team finish in the top four in 2022/23. But financial restrictions on the club meant that he was on the move again that summer before playing in Europe's marquee competition, joining Saudi side Al-Ahli. After a loan spell in Turkey last year with Fenerbahce, he joined Mexican side América last summer before leaving this January.
Now playing for his fifth Ligue 1 McDonald's club, his goal to help propel Lens into the Coupe de France final was a thing of beauty, and underscores the immediate impact he's had, even as he's battled injury. With three assists and two goals in less than 400 minutes of football, his contribution rate is among the best on the team, and now, with Lens likely to finish in the top two, he looks set to get his chance to finally play in the Champions League next season.
