Charlotte FC forward Allan Saint-Maximin: ‘I’m a winner’

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Allan Saint-Maximin, who signed a Designated Player contract with Charlotte FC, has been a success in Europe, including helping RC Lens win the Coupe de France title this year – the franchise’s first in its 120-year history. Saint-Maxim, 29, also spent four seasons with Newcastle United in the English Premier League.

Allan Saint-Maximin brings a winning attitude to Charlotte FC.

The Crown announced signing the French forward to a three-year Designated Player contract through the 2028-29 season. Saint-Maximin, 29, will occupy an international roster slot on the roster. Before arriving in Charlotte, the winger helped RC Lens win the Coupe de France title – the club’s first in its 120-year history. 

Saint-Maxim tallied four goals and three assists in 13 matches across all competitions after joining the team in February.

“I think I’m quite a leader,” he said. “I’m quite the player of the coach and I show this in my career. …I’m not the player to stay on the bench or to stay one year, two years without playing games. I always try to help the team from the starting position or from the bench and every time I try to give an impact, I try to help the team to win because I’m a winner. The only things I know is to win or to help my team to win.”

Saint-Maximin spent four seasons with Premier League side Newcastle United, where he scored 13 goals and added 21 assists in 124 matches. In his final season with the Magpies, Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League and qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2003. 

“Maxi is an elite attacking talent who has consistently performed at the highest levels of our sport, including in the Premier League,” Charlotte general manager Zoran Krneta said in a statement. “We’re delighted to bring a player of his quality to Charlotte while he is in the prime of his career. His creativity, speed, technical ability and flair make him immediately one of the most exciting players in Major League Soccer. Adding a player with his pedigree, experience, and winning mentality will bolster our attacking options and strengthen the team overall.”

Signing with Charlotte checks off a personal goal for Saint-Maximin: playing in the United States. He’s already familiar with the neighbors to the south in Liga MX, Mexico’s top league, where he made five goal contributions over 16 games with Club America.

“It was a dream since [I was] young,” he said. “I have had the chance to meet incredible people like Thierry Henry, [Marcus] Thuram, [Zinedine] Zidane, and one of the guys I like a lot, Youri Djorkaeff, because I play[ed] with his son in Saint-Etienne. All the feedback he gave me from America was a dream as well, for him to play in America. And I remember … he told me a lot of good things about playing in America, so this become like quite a dream for me to have the chance to play one day in America, in MLS.”

Another selling point, Maximin acknowledged is Charlotte FC’s supporters, who are among MLS’s attendance leaders. 

“What I like is simple: I like the supporters,” he said. “It looked like a very family club. I had the chance to speak with the coach [Dean Smith]. The coach had the chance as well to play and to be in Premier League with Aston Villa, Norwich and a lot of clubs, so it was a very good chat with him. And I have the chance to have an incredible chat with Zoran and more people of the of the club about exactly what I want for me and my family. It was an easy choice for me to come to Charlotte.”

After his Newcastle run, Saint-Maxim transferred to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli in 2023 on a $30 million deal. He scored four goals and added nine assists in 30 Saudi Pro League matches. 
A year later, Saint-Maximin was loaned to Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Super League where he tallied eight goal contributions in 31 games across all competitions, including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

After winning cups at Newcastle and Lens, Saint-Maximin is confident he can help Charlotte FC do likewise.

“I think it's simple. You can see in all my career, especially in Newcastle and the same in most of the clubs I’ve been, and recently in Lens, when I come for a couple of months, I helped the team to win the first cup in 120 years. It was not an easy challenge, but I’m always here to take the challenge, even when it's difficult.” 

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