In a world where every penalty can decide the number of minutes on the pitch, professional football - which should honor its skills and fighting spirit - seems lost in the meland of physical numbers. And Allan Saint-Maximin's story is just a small piece of a larger reality: When body weight becomes an invisible court, where players are "tortured" even before the ball rolls.
Last month, the French midfielder who played for Fenerbahce on loan posted a photo of his body analysis results on Instagram, along with the status: "Lying to flowers, but not producing results". A neat and steady response to coach Mourinho, who publicly criticized him for... being overweight. The Saint-Maximin index shows that he still maintains 84kg, equal to his time as a mainstay at Newcastle, even lighter than he was at Fenerbahce a few months ago.
There is no doubt that Saint-Maximin has been left out of the Europa League group against Rangers. But when the exclusion was blamed on the weight, an invisible knife stabbed the player's self-esteem. When asked about Saint-Maximin's message, Mourinho replied in a typical sarcastic way: "The player is hard-working, can climb stairs. As for lazy and overweight people, they will need an elevator because they are too tired.
The straightforward statement about weight was what Saint-Maximin rejected most specifically. Perhaps because that is the most easily rejected statement. But that is also the most likely word to cause harm.
Not only Saint-Maximin, Kalvin Phillips, England international and former Manchester City midfielder, were also called "excessive" by coach Pep Guardiola right in front of the media. He did not object to the 1.5kg gain after the 2022 World Cup, but also admitted that it was the "worst period" of his career, not because of weight, but because of the way he was treated. He felt Pep could solve the problem in another way instead of eroding his confidence.
Weight - an excuse or a tool?
In the eyes of sports nutritionist Dr. Nessan Costello, the way professional football uses body metrics is reflecting an obsolete obsession. He described a culture of fear, where players are monitored like criminals in the dining room, where every muscle of their skin and meat are examined as evidence of guilt.
"It's crazy, but some teams hire nutritionists just because they think the players are fat," Costello said. When he was hired by a famous club Just because they thought they had fat players, he discovered that the squad was completely standard, even better than expected. But the mistake here is that they are using weight as a target rather than a tool. And that is a deadly trap.
Sometimes, managers require weekly body fat measurements. I was even told that my only job was to measure body fat, because I want my players to look like athletes. In many cases, nutritionists are trained just to provide assessments of body composition. This is a typical case of Goodhart Law: When a measure becomes a target, it is no longer a good measure.
In football, it's happening every day. Some places measure fat per week, fine for exceeding the standard, and post public weight rankings. A game of pressure, where players are no longer human, but just numbers that can run.
The scales become "prisoners"
An unnamed expert - who has worked at many clubs in the Premier League - said: "We are often asked to collect data". Some clubs force players to record everything they eat every day. Some coaches assign a weight figure to the whole team, regardless of the physical condition, role, or biological characteristics of each person.
When numbers become the rules of the game, dialogue disappears. "No one explains why you have to lose 2kg," the expert said, "It's just an order: Lose. Everyone follows me for fear of losing a place in the game".
Weights are no longer simply tools. It becomes a judgment. Some players weigh themselves 5-6 times a day, before meals, after meals, before bed, just to make sure the number is not "exposing the law". A habit born from fear, not fear of health, but fear of being judged as lazy, unprofessional, und warranted.
Fear of carbs, nutritional confusion
A 2024 study at a Premier League club shows that: 81% of players do not eat enough of the starch needed before the match day. Why? They are afraid of... being fat.
Costello said: "I saw a player faint during training because of hypoglycemia, just fasting to stay fit." Others apply a strict low-carb diet, not to improve physical fitness, but to... look beautiful when wearing a close-fitting shirt for summer vacation.
Professor James Morton, who was in charge of nutrition for Liverpool and the Team Sky cycling team, affirmed: The impact of weight on football is inflated. This is a skill sport, not physical exercise. Morton cited research that shows: Players are often classified as "unprofessional" if they do not achieve their body fat targets, even though they play well. That is no longer science, but social prejudice that requires expertise.
Injuries from childhood
Costello has met many players who have been haunted by his studies in the academy. "I used to be called fat, so I don't eat rice right now," one player shared, "I have to be under 78kg, otherwise the coach wouldn't have given me kicks". The shadow of the past kept pressing, from the practice room to the dining room, from lunch to the tactical meeting.
For female players, the problem is even more obvious. A study by FIFPRO shows that 1/5 female players have had an eating disorder within 1 year. Alessia Russo - the star of the England team - once talked about the crisis period due to weight obsession during the COVID-19 lockdown. I want to be thin, but now I just want to be strong, she said.
Although there have not been many similar studies on men, in fact, there is no shortage of invisible scars from physical pressure. The era of social networks has made every waist and abdominal muscle become a topic of commentary, even more so than the technique of ball handling.
Starting from scratch, with trust and dialogue
So what needs to be changed? Experts like Morton and Costello agree: Predicting body mass index is still necessary, but it must come with clear goals, with the consensus of both coaches, doctors and players. It cannot be an order, but an exchange.
"We asked: Are you 1kg lighter today, due to dehydration or skipping meals? , not questioning," Costello shared, "It's a way to build trust."
For young players, monitoring their physical index helps recognize the period of puberty and growth. For injured players, it helps monitor muscle loss. But in any case, it must be a means, not a purpose.
Language is the key, said an expert, If players understand why they need to measure, they will feel respected, it is a humane process. If they only see themselves being monitored and tried, then no matter how correct the index is, that system is still wrong.
Choose the person or the number?
Football, in the end, is a human story. If we continue to put the numbers up, and the players stand below with anxiety and inferiority, then this game has lost their soul.
Saint-Maximin may be right when he said that "the truth comes in a staircase, the lie comes in an elevator". But sadly, in many dressing rooms today, that staircase is blocked by a scale.
