Saint-Maximin Turns Down €26M Offer for Board Game, Explains Why

Allan Saint-Maximin refused a €26 million buyout offer for Hélios, his board game inspired by Greek mythology, and publicly explained his reasons for the decision.

“First, don’t be shocked—it’s still an offer, and it was turned down for several reasons,” said the 29-year-old former French U21 international. Rather than a full sale, he favors a private equity approach: “I much prefer them to come in as equity investors, putting in a more reasonable sum in exchange for shares, rather than selling them my game entirely.”

Saint-Maximin emphasizes the personal attachment he has to Hélios after having “spent enormous time imagining this game, creating its rules and designing it.” Selling the entire project would amount, in his view, to “abandoning all that vision for simple financial interests”—a prospect he firmly rejects.

The former winger for RC Lens and Newcastle also champions a social mission behind the project: creating jobs, generating opportunities, and redistributing gains, “particularly to those most in need.” He claims tens of thousands of euros in prizes have already been distributed through tournaments organized around the game.

To put the sum in perspective, Saint-Maximin joked about his Saudi earnings: “I’ve already made €45 million net in three years in Saudi Arabia, so a €26 million offer isn’t going to shake me. A billion, maybe we’d talk about that, but we’re still very far from it!” Under contract with Al-Ahli, his net annual salary rose from €3 million to €15 million; he played 31 matches in two years there.

“€26 million is a nice offer. But changing people’s lives has no price,” he concluded, announcing the organization of a Hélios tournament in January.