Neal Maupay has made fun of James Maddison the day after he was axed by England ahead of Euro 2024.
The Everton forward posted a photograph of him clutching a trio of darts in front of a board, mocking Maddison’s trademark celebration.
Maddison is known for his darts-throwing celebration and even invited Luke Littler as a special guest to Tottenham’s match against Bournemouth last year.
The pair shared a heated exchange after the celebration, though Maddison and Tottenham ultimately had last laugh by taking three points.
Neal Maupay has brutally mocked James Maddison after he was axed by England, posting a photo of him holding darts
Maddison, who celebrates goals by playing ‘shadow darts’, was the first player to discover he would not be in England’s Euros squad yesterday
Maupay started a feud with Maddison in January when he copied his celebration after scoring against Spurs
It led to an awkward exchange in which the pair slapped one another before the Brentford man walked off smiling to himself.
‘I just said to him he probably hasn’t scored enough goals of his own in the last few years to have his own celebration so he had to copy mine,’ Maddison told TNT Sports afterwards.
After Spurs won the match 3-2, Maupay was forced to eat humble pie but instead put out a spiky Instagram post.
It read: ‘Went a bit early with that one. Gutted we couldn’t get the win. More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison.’
The news of Maddison’s Euros hopes dying came to light on Wednesday.
The Tottenham midfielder was widely viewed as one of the players at risk of missing out following a largely disappointing second half of the season.
And Maddison, who came on as a substitute against Bosnia on Monday night, will not be going to Germany after Gareth Southgate decided the former Leicester man would not make his 26-man party.
It is understood Maddison was in line to play in Friday’s final warm-up fixture versus Iceland, but that will no longer be the case with Jarrod Bowen pushing to take his place in the team.
Maupay in an Instagram post said he had ‘more goals and less relegations’ than Maddison
He has become one of the league’s marmite figures after a series of clashes with players
The forward was involved in a heated exchange with a riled-up Kyle Walker as Brentford played Manchester City in February
Walker threatened to ‘knock out’ Maupay after claiming the Brentford striker was taunting him about his children, an expert lip reader revealed
England boss Southgate has to reduce his original 33-man squad by midnight on Friday and Maddison is a high-profile omission.
Maupay has become one of the Premier League’s primary troublemakers when it comes to getting under the skin of rival fans.
The 27-year-old has positioned himself as a marmite figure after a series of mocking gestures and comments about fellow stars.
In Feburary he clashed with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker after the England full-back split from his wife Annie Kilner, having fathered a second child with Lauryn Goodman.
Meanwhile, he is despised by Arsenal fans after injuring goalkeeper Bernd Leno and then clashing with Matteo Guendouzi while playing for Brighton in June 2020.
Leno’s yelp of pain echoed around an empty Amex Stadium – with fans locked out due to the Covid-19 pandemic – after Maupay caused the Arsenal keeper to fall awkwardly after jumping into him.
The knee ligament damage suffered ruled the German out for Arsenal’s final 11 games that season and – infuriated – he jabbed his finger in Maupay’s direction as he was carried off on a stretcher.
At the final whistle, after Maupay scored Brighton’s winner in stoppage time, all social distancing went out the window as Guendouzi grabbed him by the throat.
Maupay was involved in a collision with Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno in June 2020
The German goalkeeper ranted at Maupay as he was carried off injured on a stretcher
At the end of the match, Matteo Guendouzi grabbed Maupay by the throat as players clashed
Wilfried Zaha cupped his ears to the Brighton fans after scoring for Crystal Palace in 2021
Maupay then equalised late on and copied Zaha’s celebration to goad the Palace supporters
‘Some of the Arsenal players need to learn humility maybe sometimes. They’ve been talking a lot first-half, second-half when they were 1-0 up – they got what they deserved,’ Maupay said.
In September 2021, Maupay courted controversy again after he copied Wilfried Zaha’s celebration by cupping his hands to his ears after scoring a last-minute equaliser for Brighton against bitter rivals Crystal Palace.
Zaha was irked by Maupay’s action and players from both sides clashed after the 1-1 draw.
‘Football is nothing without fans and some involvement with players,’ Maupay said afterwards.
Maupay continued his rampage in February, this time targeting former Arsenal and Chelsea man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Maupay continued to mock his fellow pros in February, targeting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Maupay asked if he could put Aubameyang (pictured) eleventh out of 10 in a ranking video on Brentford’s TikTok account
The Frenchman was filming a video ranking players past and present, which involved being given a name and putting them in a list from one to ten without knowing who else was to come.
And Maupay had some choice words for Aubameyang when he popped up, saying: ‘: ‘Oh my God, can I put him eleven? No, I can’t. No hard feelings.’
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