In England, Premier League fans will best remember Allan Saint-Maximin for his time at Newcastle United between 2019 and 2023. These days, the French winger plays for MLS club Charlotte FC, but – away from football – he has a very different life going on at the same time.

Saint-Maximin scored 13 goals and claimed 21 assists in 124 games for Newcastle. More than his stats, though, the winger caught the eye with his electric style of play. This helped him earn a £23m move Al-Ahli in 2023, but he's career since then has been that of a journeyman.

He was loaned out to Turkish side Fenerbahce after just one season in Saudi, and then joined Club América in Mexico one summer later. By February, he was sold to Lens, but only months later joined Charlotte in the United States.

With two goals and four assists in his first 15 games for the MLS club, he's settling in steadily enough, but the 29-year-old had reasons away from football to be content with his prospects right now anyway.

MLS Star Saint-Maximin's Card Game is Worth Millions

As revealed in an interview with The Athletic, Saint-Maximin recently had the chance to make millions from his venture outside of football. The business in question is known as Helios, which is a Greek mythology-inspired card game created by the former Newcastle man.

The MLS star has claimed that he received a £22m (€26m) offer for the business, but turned it down as he wants to continue growing his free-to-play game. He explained:

“The journey is not about money. It’s to create something, to create jobs for people, to create opportunities.”

Saint-Maximin added that, despite rejecting the offer, he would prefer to bring in others to work alongside him, each taking a stake in the company in return for their investment.

Saint-Maximin Spent Years Developing Helios

It's not the first time he's spoken about Helios, named after the sun god. In 2022, he explained how he grew up with an interest in Greek mythology. This inspired him to combine his love for board games with the topic and create the game. He would even take it on team buses when travelling to away games.

"When I was young, I learned about Zeus and Athena and saw a lot of films and anime movies with them in," he said. "When you start to understand it, you really love it.”

According to Helios' official rulebook, the aim of the game is to win by earning coins or stealing them from your opponent. Saint-Maximin explained how he developed it, adding: “There was a lot of work, a lot of nights, because you need to come up with a new idea.

"I tested it with friends. We started to play small tournaments at home. It took two and a half years — but I am really happy that I didn’t stop.”

These days, his company appears to be going from strength to strength, and could even one day put him among footballers who have become successful businessmen