Neal Maupay takes brutal dig at ex-Chelsea and Arsenal star during ranking segment
Brentford striker Neal Maupay doesn't appear to hold former Chelsea and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in high regard. The Frenchman was disappointed to have to rank him highly in a ranking segment on his club's official TikTok channel.
Maupay used the random football player filter on TikTok and ranked each player by his preference. He'd ranked the likes of Liverpool icon Michael Owen (9), Inter Milan legend Adriano (4), and Napoli's Victor Osimhen (10).
The Bees forward, on loan from Everton, only had the top three spots left available when Aubameyang emerged. He responded:
"Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, oh my god! Can I put him 11? No I can't... no hard feelings i'll put him third."
Maupay has been somewhat polarizing during his time in the Premier League, recently getting into a bust-up with Manchester City star Kyle Walker. A lip-reader claimed that the English right-back complained to the referee that the French frontman mentioned his children.
Aubameyang was similarly a controversial figure during his time in the English top-flight with Chelsea and Arsenal. He left both London clubs unceremoniously, falling out with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and lacking game time at Stamford Bridge.
The 34-year-old did enjoy the majority of his four years at the Emirates. The Gabonese forward bagged 92 goals and 21 assists in 163 games, winning the FA Cup in 2020.
Ex-Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang explains where it went wrong at Chelsea
Aubameyang enjoyed much success at Arsenal which also included him winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2018/19 with 22 goals. He was long viewed as one of the Premier League's most prolific frontmen.
The Gabon international departed for Barcelona in January 2022 after a rift with Arteta. He got back to his best with the La Liga giants but that wasn't the case when he returned to English shores with Chelsea in September of that year.
The Blues signed Aubameyang for €12 million and it was a deal mostly overseen by former manager Thomas Tuchel. He'd played under the German coach during his time in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.
However, the veteran forward only played one game under Tuchel with the west Londoners until he was sacked. He then struggled for game time, finishing his Chelsea spell with just three goals and one assist in 21 games across competitions.
Aubameyang alluded to the short time he got to spend with Tuchel at Stamford Bridge when discussing how the transfer didn't pan out well. He said (via The Mirror):
"I think it's simple to explain. The manner in which I was received by both the players and the staff, at Chelsea, the context was a bit different. Because I arrived at Chelsea in no small part due to Thomas Tuchel, and a week later, he had been sacked."
He added:
"So the two contexts were not at all similar, it was not easy for me, and that had an influence. From there I basically didn’t play anymore. And then later there were problems of a different nature that were not my fault."
The former Arsenal captain joined Ligue 1 side Marseille on a free transfer this past summer. He's been in red-hot form, striking 14 goals and seven assists in 29 games.