A player who branded himself the “most disliked” in the Premier League faces embarrassment this summer at the hands of a club that has only just signed him.
Neal Maupay made few friends at Everton and left the Goodison Park chapter of his life behind him this summer as he left the club to join Marseille on a permanent basis.
Having joined Roberto De Zerbi’s men on loan last summer, he completed a permanent move to Stade Velodrome after contributing four goals and four assists in 22 games.
Marseille, though, appear to have decided that they do not want the 28-year-old, who is under contract with the Champions League outfit until 2028.
He has struggled to win over De Zerbi and now the French club have set an asking price of €5 million for the player, FootMercato reports. While this is €1m more than they bought him from Everton, it still sits well below his €8.4m Estimated Transfer Value (ETV).
There have been no takers, though. A move to Trabzonspor had been rumoured, but Fotomac reports there is no interest while potential moves to Lens and Sassuolo have come to nothing.
Maupay’s strained relationship with Everton fans
Everton were only too happy to see the back of Maupay, who had caused more than a little disruption during his time at Goodison Park.
Indeed, the constant controversy that seems to surround the player led him to call himself the least popular player in the Premier League during an interview with The Times.
“People say footballers are boring, then all of a sudden a player does this and everyone goes, ‘Why, Neal?’ ‘He’s the most disliked player.’ Blah blah blah,” he said.
“For me, football is a game, it’s entertainment. I’m just having fun and, on the pitch, I’m trying to do everything to win. If I can say something that puts you off or makes you overthink and make a mistake, I’ll do it.
“People don’t realise how much tension and emotion is involved at the highest level. I think it works quite well and if I can get a reaction, great.”
Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂
— Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) December 29, 2024
Maupay’s antics have extended to social media, with the controversial Frenchman winding Everton fans up after the Toffees lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest in December.
“Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile,” he tweeted.
Maupay was subsequently called “a weasel” by Everton fan and former world champion boxer Tony Bellew.
In a previous incident, he shared a video of The Shawshank Redemption when his move to Marseille on loan was announced.
If Maupay had trouble exiting Everton, it appears that Marseille will be quite happy to open the doors for him to leave, though.
