Former Brentford and Brighton striker Neal Maupay has never been the type to shy away from a bit of football banter.
Among the Marseille forward’s greatest hits is his 2024 barb aimed at James Maddison, when the then-Brentford man mimicked the Tottenham playmaker’s darts celebration following his first-half goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The pair had no previous history, but the incident sparked a mini war of words between the pair following Spurs’ eventual 3-2 victory, and while Maupay insists there was no malice in it, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
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Maupay on his Maddison darts wind-up
Maupay insists that even his most memorable celebrations are not pre-meditated, with the player instead preferring to let the emotion of the game guide him.
“I don't usually plan celebrations because I like to react to my emotions,” he tells FourFourTwo. “I just go with the flow of the game and how I feel at the time.”
On this occasion in January 2024, it was Maddison who was caught in his crosshairs.
“That’s what happened during that game, because I have no problem with James Maddison,” he continues. The pair had faced off nine times before that fateful match, and there was no bad blood between them.
“When I faced him while he was at Leicester, we were always friendly with each other,” Maupay adds.
“But in this game, with the atmosphere and seeing the fans in the front row, I just wanted to do his celebration.”
Both players had their say immediately following the game, with Maddison telling TNT Sports that: “He probably hasn't scored enough goals in the last couple of years for his own celebration, so he probably had to copy mine!”, while Maupay used Instagram to remind the masses that he had ‘more goals and less relegations’ in his career.
But despite this, Maupay appears to carry no beef, even going as far as to say he would do it again.
“I actually haven't spoken to him about it since,” he says. “From what I heard, he wasn't too happy about it.
“From my point of view, I think it was a good celebration and if I had to do it again, I would.”
The interview with Neal was arranged by YRDS
