Former Premier League star claims club doctors urged him to dope and then threatened him to keep quiet

Allan Saint-Maximin has spoken out to make a shocking claim that doctors at his former club encouraged him break doping rules.

In August 2019, highly-rated talent Saint-Maximin joined Newcastle United in a £16.5million deal from Ligue 1 side Nice, signing a six-year deal.

Across his time with the Magpies, the Frenchman made 124 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and assisting 21.

Despite being somewhat of a fan-favourite player, Saint-Maximin left Newcastle United in July 2023, joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for a reported fee of £23 million.

During the 2025/25 season, the winger was on loan with Turkish club Fenerbahce, and now he's spoken out about his time with Jose Mourinho's side, making a bold claim.

Allan Saint-Maximin made 124 appearances for Newcastle United. (Image: Getty)

Saint-Maximin had a turbulent season with Fenerbahce, reportedly clashing with Mourinho who reportedly accused him of being overweight back in March.

After leaving the Frenchman out of the squad for the Europa League clash with Rangers, the Portuguese manager said, via GiveMeSport: "When a footballer trains well he will become fit, can climb stairs and does not need an elevator.

"But if he doesn't train well, if he comes in late and is overweight, he needs an elevator to go up because he gets tired very quickly on the stairs."

The forward hit back at the comments on social media, claiming that his manager was lying, and he has now opened up even further about his time with Fenerbahce.

While speaking with French internet personality Zack Nani, the 28-year-old claimed that during his spell at the Turkish side, club doctors had tried to get him to start doping.

He claimed: "The reason Fenerbahce could not become champions was that the club was surrounded by factors other than football.

"At one point, they even tried to dope me. People do not know these things. You cannot talk about these things openly because they threaten you. If you do, they say 'we will do this and that to you'. Sometimes you find yourself in matters that go beyond football."

Saint-Maximin made 31 appearances for Fenerbahce. (Image: Getty)

After a clip of the moment went viral on social media, Saint-Maximin took to social media to clarify exactly what he meant and explain the scenario that led to him being asked to dope.

Posting on X, he wrote "I see that things are going all over the place on X, so I'm going to clarify what I said.

"I was talking about those people around the club who are ready for anything. In my case, when I was sick, they practically gave me a treatment that’s considered a doping product. I don’t know for what purpose this team of doctors did that."