‘Ask him’ – Neal Maupay discusses supposed James Maddison feud after darts celebration spat & apparent taunting of Tottenham star’s omission from England Euro 2024 squad

The supposed feud between the duo started when Maupay copied Maddison's darts celebration and the England star responded coldly. The most recent incident came after the Brentford star seemingly mocked Maddison's omission from Gareth Southgate's England squad for the Euros.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Maupay said: "You need to ask him. From my side, I’ve got no problem with him or anyone. I know when I do things like that and we lose the game they will come for me. That’s fine, I can take it. For me, football is a game and growing up I did the same stuff. I don’t want to stop now. I’m just having a bit of banter and a bit of a laugh, there’s nothing deep. I like to give something, but I can receive as well.

"It’s just fun. I like a bit of banter with my mates. That’s just how it is, just because I’m a professional footballer doesn’t mean I can’t do it. I don’t know how people react to it, but it’s just me."

Maupay also revealed why he copied Maddison's darts celebration and said it was not pre-meditated.

"I actually didn’t think about it before. I score and celebrate with whatever is going through my mind. I don’t have one celebration, so I do a bit of everything. When I scored, I was running to the corner flag and saw the fans and they were angry at me. I don’t know how my brain works, but I just did the darts celebration. It wasn’t towards Maddison, but one of their players does the celebration so I just did it," he explained.

The Brentford star added that found the Tottenham players' reaction hilarious, adding: “That was even funnier. How do you take a celebration so personally? Before that game, I was cool with everyone and with Maddison. He grabbed me straight away as I was coming back from the goal and he was so p*ssed. “I was like ‘relax, it’s just a celebration’."

While Maupay has said that he has no interest in continuing the feud with Maddison, it seems unlikely that the Brentford star will shy away from further banter next season.