Maxi-mum change for Charlotte FC

This is a special Maxi Monday edition of Fútbol Friday, in honor of Charlotte FC’s newest designated player, Allan Saint-Maximin, and today’s opening of the Major League Soccer summer transfer window. As the World Cup winds down and Charlotte FC prepares for its first game back on July 22 against Atlanta United, we didn’t want to wait until Friday to introduce its newest star player.

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When Charlotte FC’s season resumes in nine days, the club will have a new star player on its roster. He’ll play on the wing. He’ll wear the No. 10 jersey. And his name will not be Wilfried Zaha.

He’s Allan Saint-Maximin. And for those either unfamiliar or intimidated by a long name, the Frenchman and former Newcastle United star is making it easy: Just call him Maxi. 

He is still awaiting his visa and not expected to play when Charlotte’s season starts up again against Atlanta United July 22. Saint-Maximin has yet to even visit Charlotte — he sent his sister Cassandra to scout out the city — but he seemed eager and ready for the city to get to know him. 

Between his nickname and the impression Saint-Maximin made in his first conversation with select members of local media late last week, Maxi came off as approachable, adaptable and accommodating.

“This club offered to me the opportunity to become a legend here, so that's exactly what I want,” said Saint-Maximin, who signed a three-year contract. “And it's exactly what I know I'm capable of doing.”

Charlotte’s new designated player, like his left wing predecessor, is not short on confidence. But over the course of a 30-minute conversation, all the ways that Saint-Maximin and Zaha seemed similar on the surface — as world class dribbling wingers with an English Premier League track record — began to peel away.

Granted, it might be facetious to compare two premium players who happened to be tag-teaming Charlotte’s winger position — especially before one has even taken the field. But “Maxi” didn’t shy away from the comparisons to Zaha, so neither did we. 

“We are [such] different players,” said Saint-Maximin, whose mother encouraged him to learn English as a young boy chasing a Premier League dream. “To be honest, I like Zaha a lot. He is a great player. What he achieved in the Premier League was great. But to be fair, we are different players — the way I play, the way I can help the team in so many different aspects because I'm a real leader. I think I showed this year even more with Lens.”

After a tumultuous couple of stints from Turkey to Mexico, Saint-Maximin returned to France where he had six goal contributions (three goals, three assists) in 12 matches to help RC Lens finish second in Ligue 1 and qualify for the prestigious Champions League. 

Zaha, no doubt, was a leader in his own right in Charlotte, especially when it came to mentoring Charlotte’s younger players. And given that English is Saint-Maximin’s second language, his comment about being a real leader sounded harsher than he probably meant it. But the more “Maxi” explained his game and his mentality, the more different his profile sounded from Zaha’s. 

Think full court press in basketball, when guards try to force turnovers. It’s the same with soccer forwards. Zaha made a habit of circling back to help on defense when it was sorely needed, but most of his energy for Charlotte FC was spent on offense. 

“I want to bring this pressing mentality because we need to press, we need to defend,” Saint-Maximin said. “The more we press, the more we're going to recoup the ball, the more we're going to have a chance to attack.” 

“I'm a team player,” said Saint-Maximin, who had 12 goals and 18 assists in his four seasons with Newcastle. “If you see my career, I always give more assists than goals. … I'm here to help. I'm not here just to be the guy to score two goals when we lose 4-2. I want to score when we win. If I have to tackle, if I have to do anything for the team to win, I will do it.”

Zaha was near the MLS lead in fouls drawn, not to mention reactions to referees and/or opponents afterward. Zaha’s two yellow cards in last year’s regular season finale led to his disqualification in the home opener of Charlotte FC’s first-round playoff series loss to New York City FC.

“I'm quite different from Zaha in this because I'm not going to be frustrated,” Saint-Maximin said. “I know it's what they want, and I'm not going to give it to them. I'm going to use this against them. They can come if they want. If two or three players come to me to make a foul on everything, I know I have to pass the ball quickly to give space to my teammates. Even if I have to do this every game, if we win, I did my job.”

Charlotte FC’s newest winger is known for his dynamic dribbling ability. How dynamic? According to metrics from Opta Analyst, Saint-Maximin was one of the top dribblers in the top five leagues of European soccer over a span of more than 10 years, from August of 2012 until June of 2023. During that time, he ranked third in successful take-ons per 90 minutes, ahead of legends Neymar and Lionel Messi. (A successful take-on is when an attacker dribbles up to, beats a defender and retains the ball.)

Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta addressed Zaha’s departure for the first time last week since Zaha announced his departure from Charlotte in late May. He said Charlotte made two contract offers, which Zaha declined.

“We made two good offers, in my opinion,” Krneta said. “He refused both and wanted different terms, which I thought for 34 years old, at this stage of life and everything else, is not realistic for us.”

Zaha turns 34 in November. Saint-Maximin turned 29 in March. He’ll arrive in Charlotte, in what Krneta characterizes as his prime. It’s his age and speed that made him appealing, Krneta said.

“This league is getting better, getting faster and getting more athletic,” Krneta said. “I believe that we, as Charlotte FC and the league in general, most of us would like to go away from this ‘retirement league.’ I'd like our team to be very athletic and very fast, which is the modern game. We see this in the World Cup.” 

Krneta said Saint-Maximin has been on Charlotte’s radar as a prospective player for four months, and once it was clear they weren’t close with Zaha, they zeroed in on Saint-Maximin.

Krneta said the winger turned down multi-year offers to return to RC Lens, Premier League clubs and Saudi Arabia. Saint-Maximin said he was convinced he wanted to try something new after a conversation over breakfast with head coach Dean Smith, who coached against him at Aston Villa.

“This was one of the best conversations I’ve had since (coach) Steve Bruce when I was in Newcastle,” Saint-Maximin said. “(Smith) explained to me about what I can achieve here. I like difficult challenges. I don't like when everything is easy, and I think I show this during all my career. I never try to be the player that goes to Manchester or Paris.”

He played for Saint Etienne and never Paris Saint-Germaine. When he first signed with Newcastle in August of 2019, they were coming off a season in which they’d finished 13th in the EPL.

“I always try to take difficult challenge,” Saint-Maximin said. “If I go to play tennis, I'm not going to choose an opponent that is easy to beat. I like the story with David and Goliath. I come to Charlotte because the club is quite new. I really want to be part of the legacy of the club.”

Since leaving Newcastle in 2023, he’s played for four clubs in three seasons. A stint with Fenerbahce in Turkey soured over playing time he missed tending to his sick father, and he left Club America in Mexico abruptly over allegations of racism against two of his children.

In Charlotte, Saint-Maximin believes he’s found a refuge, and a place where his wife and four children, ages 9, 8, 5 and 1, will thrive. 

“My family follows me in every single place I've been,” he said. “Some places were not easy to follow, but they always trust me. This time was more a family choice. It was the first time we all agree and are happy to come to a place.”

Saint-Maximin said he’s has been playing in a headband since watching the movie “The Karate Kid” as a young boy. 

“When I was young, I think when I put headband on, I get a superpower,” Saint-Maximin said. “I'm a different player.”

He noted other athletes who’ve wore them over the years, from Kobe Bryant to Ronaldinho to Rafael Nadal.

He’s been intrigued by American culture and said he’s a regular visitor here. He’s traveled to New York, L.A., Miami and Las Vegas. 

Maxi said he first started hearing about MLS and what it’s like to play soccer in America when he was a teenager playing for Saint-Étienne. He was teammates with the son of French midfielder Youri Djorkaeff, who capped off his career with the New York Red Bulls in 2005-06.

“All the feedback he gave me was it was a dream for him to play in America,” he said. “So this has become a dream for me to have the chance to play in America, in MLS.”

General manager Zoran Krneta has been saying for the past year that this summer’s World Cup would raise the bar for Major League Soccer, and now said he can confirm it.

“I think this is a game-changer,” he said. 

Krneta shared an anecdote about an international player he approached about signing who declined his overtures. But after participating in the World Cup, Krneta said, the player told him he really enjoyed his experience in America.

“I'm getting information from other players who loved America, who loved being here, whether it's an England national team, Scottish national team, French national team, Brazilian national team, Argentina national team,” Krneta said. “That's not to mention Cape Verde; all these guys will all be very, very interested in coming to MLS. Suddenly, the players that before would not even consider MLS, are now thinking, ‘I love this country, I love the lifestyle, I love the stadiums, I love the crowd, I love the weather.’ I think is going to help us help us tremendously.”

So what’s the catch? Major League Soccer’s salary structure, Krneta said, which limits the number of players each team can sign to rival what many command on the global market. 

“Are we going to change the salary cap?” Krneta said. “Are we going to change our ability to attract the players? Because if it says similar to this, then it's same old story of 15 years ago. I think the league and commissioner and the owners are working hard on finding a formal solution for us to expand as a league and start being competitive.”

Krneta said he was asked in a recent interview on England’s radio show “Talk Sport” if MLS had the capacity to become one of the top five leagues in the world.

"Yes, we want to be top five league in the world,” Krneta said. “MLS has a chance to be, but we need to change.”

As coach of the host city Charlotte, Dean Smith got to choose 16 of the 29 players on the MLS roster for the July 29 All-Star game at Bank of America Stadium. He took full advantage by adding Charlotte FC midfielders Pep Biel and Ashley Westwood to his roster, where they join center back Tim Ream, one of 11 players voted in by fans and media.

They will be the first Charlotte FC players to take part in the MLS All-Star game in the club’s five-year history. Patrick Agyemang was named to the team last summer but left via transfer to Derby County in England before the game.

Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was a notable absence on the roster but Smith said MLS wanted to reward goalkeepers coming off World Cup appearances, so he went with New York City FC’s Matt Freese, who played for the U.S., and Orlando’s Maxime Crepeau, who played for Canada, instead. The third spot went to Brian Schwake of Nashville, who was voted in.

“I would love to have Kahli in but the timing probably wasn’t right this season,” Smith said.

Ream was invited to take part in All-Star skills challenge at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights, on Tuesday, July 28. He’ll join the likes of Son Heung-min, Thomas Müller, Evander, Sebastian Berhalter and others in various shooting and passing drills.

Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fifth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!