Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison may be amongst a raft of Premier League players who were quite happy to see Neal Maupay secure a move away from England in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
Despite scoring 33 goals in the Premier League over his career, Neal Maupay will perhaps be remembered best for a number of antics which often infuriated rival players and fans.
Perhaps his most famous moment last season came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the 28-year-old scored to put Brentford in front back in February. Maupay decided to mimic James Maddison‘s darts celebration, just to annoy the Spurs fans that little bit more.
It was perhaps not the smartest idea from Maupay as the goal came just 15 minutes in. Tottenham would then score three times on their way to a 3-2 victory, with Maddison playing an important role in the third goal.
James Maddison shares what he made of Neal Maupay stealing his celebration
Maupay would claim that Maddison was offended by the celebration, but it seems that it was something else which actually annoyed him more.
Speaking on Golf Life, the England international was asked about whether he has spoken to Maupay about the incident, and whether there remains any animosity towards the forward.
“No,” he said, when asked about if he had spoken to Maupay.
“No beef. I was more frustrated because we conceded than he did my celebration. I’m a bad loser, I love winning more than actually hating him. He’s trying to be a wind up merchant, he’s trying to create that image, but no, nothing from my side.”
The bizarre actions continued – long after Brentford’s defeat
Of course, Tottenham’s players will argue that their comeback had little to do with what Maupay did in the game, but it is hard to imagine that it did not fire them up even more.
Bizarrely, Maupay joked afterwards about having the Tottenham players on toast – after all of them celebrated a goal by throwing an imaginary dart in his direction. While that would have been something to potentially be proud of had Brentford won, it does seem incredibly strange to take that view after a defeat.
Maupay would also be quick to seemingly mock Maddison after the attacking midfielder was left out of the England squad for the European Championships this summer. So he had little problem doubling down on his actions.
Maddison meanwhile, probably feels that he has little reason to stoop to that level, particularly with their paths unlikely to cross again anytime soon.