Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy has gone from unemployed to one of the world’s best in just six years, writes Dylan Appolis.

Edouard Mendy was signed in 2020 by Chelsea’s former manager Frank Lampard from Rennes, on the recommendation of club legend Petr Cech, to compete with club-record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Mendy was originally viewed as a temporary alternative to the error-prone Kepa and at £22-million cost a fraction of the £71-million they splashed on the Spanish goalkeeper. Within a year at the London club, Mendy became Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper and helped them win the Champions League and Uefa Super Cup.

But Mendy’s journey to the top of world football has by no means been easy. The Chelsea keeper, who was born in Montivilliers in France to a Senegalese mother and Guinea-Bissaun father, started his career in the Le Havre academy before being released by the club after failing to make enough of an impression.

After spending five years playing for amateur club CS Municipaux Le Havre, where he won the Normandy Cup, he signed a professional contract with third division side Cherbourg in 2011. But things went from bad to worse as he endured successive relegations before his contract came to an end.

He was released by the club in 2014, topped by a failed move to an unnamed English League One club. Mendy was left unemployed at the age of 22 and registered with France’s unemployment agency, while he seriously considered his future in football. ‘When one remains unemployed for a year, even with the best will in the world, doubt sets in,’ Mendy said. ‘We think a lot; we try to weigh the pros and cons, to say to ourselves what is the best solution.

‘I was going to be the father of a family and real questions arose about my future. This is where my entourage played a major role. If I had been badly surrounded, I would surely have stopped football. I cannot thank my family enough, my cousins. All the people who didn’t give up on me.’

Mendy’s luck would change after he was recommended to fill a goalkeeping vacancy at Marseille by a friend and former teammate Ted Lavie. After talks with goalkeeping coach Dominique Bernatowicz, Marseille signed Mendy as their fourth-choice goalkeeper in 2015.

‘I reached a new level in Marseille,’ he said. ‘I trained with the pros throughout the year, which you normally would not expect as a No 4 keeper. It was proof that I performed well and made all the efforts required. It was a rewarding year.’

He played the 2015-16 campaign in Marseille’s reserve team as a backup to Florian Escales, which earned him a move to Ligue 2 side Reims where established himself as regular and subsequently helped them gain promotion to the top-fight.

The Senegalese keeper’s performance at Reims was enough for Rennes to come calling, in a deal worth £3.5-million. Mendy proved his worth by helping them to qualify for the Uefa Champions League before accepting a sensational move to Chelsea. The late-bloomer soon realised his dream of becoming an elite goalkeeper and continued to thrive at the Blues.

His physical dominance, his strong influence in the defensive third, aerial assertiveness, positive attitude and work ethic saw him helped him reach the top and earn the praise of his peers. He has picked up major accolades for his exploits, including the Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season (2020–21) and the Best Fifa Men’s Goalkeeper (2021).

in 2022, He’s continued where he left off and is easily one of Europe’s best, having already helped Senegal lift their first Africa Cup of Nations title. He won the Afcon Best Goalkeeper award too, before returning to Chelsea to win the Fifa Club World Cup a week later.

‘This year was fantastic. Now we need to keep going. We need to question everything; we need to start from scratch when the season gets underway again. What we did was good, but we need to leave that to one side and keep setting other goals, keep progressing and keep striving to make this club better.

‘Am I one of the best goalkeepers in the world? I couldn’t tell you, but for me, the most important thing is to be the best for my team. Being the best for my club means being the best every day and being the best I can be on the pitch, helping my team to win trophies.

‘I’ve progressed every year, and I did last year too, and that’s something I want to do every year. It’s something I want all the time,’ concluded Mendy.

Fast Facts
Full Name: Edouard Osoque Mendy
Date Of Birth: 1 March 1992
Place Of Birth: Montivilliers, France
Height: 1.94m
Position: Goalkeeper
Team: Chelsea
Number: 16