Unlike most players, Chelsea's goalkeeper struggled with unemployment during the early years of his professional career and began looking for work outside of football. However, the goalkeeper who was once unwanted later became the most expensive African goalkeeper. Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy contributed to Chelsea's victory in the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup (despite not participating in the penalty shootout), and today he holds the title of the most expensive African goalkeeper across all global leagues, with a market value estimated at 25 million euros.
However, the career path of the first-choice goalkeeper for the Senegalese national team was not paved with ease, as it included significant difficulties. Seven years ago, this goalkeeper was searching for a livelihood outside of football and had no option but to rely on unemployment benefits in France. The story began when he left the French team Cherbourg, which competes in the third division, in the summer of 2014. He spent three years with the team, and that contract was his first professional contract after coming up through a small club in Le Havre.
Mendy then spent an entire season without a team, during which he could only return to Le Havre but solely to train with the reserves to maintain his fitness without receiving any wages from the sport, according to his previous statements. In the evenings, he would train alone in the gym or with his brother outside, as mentioned by the DW channel. Mendy noted that this time was extremely difficult for him, as his wife was pregnant, and the unemployment benefits were insufficient to cover all expenses, so he began searching for work outside of football.
However, the following season presented him with an opportunity he seized eagerly with the help of friends: a trial period with Marseille's second team, where he successfully convinced the officials, but still remained a second-choice goalkeeper for that team, which played in the fourth division. In the 2016/2017 season, Mendy managed to transfer to Stade Reims, which was competing in the second division. He was not the first choice given his fourth-division background, but fortune favored him from the very first match when the first-choice goalkeeper was sent off, allowing Mendy to showcase his strong skills in subsequent matches, although he returned to being the second-choice keeper for most of the remaining games.
Mendy's true breakout came in the following season when the coach convinced him to be the first-choice goalkeeper, helping the team return to the first division. In the 2018/2019 season, he helped his team secure an eighth-place finish, leading to his transfer to Rennes the following season for the first time in his life for a fee of around 7.6 million euros, then to Chelsea for 24 million euros.
Mendy stated that his days of unemployment were difficult and that he had doubts about succeeding in football, but he received support from his family, especially since it is a sports family, with his younger brother Ferland Mendy currently playing as a left-back for Real Madrid. Today, Mendy has become not only a successful goalkeeper but also one of the most skilled goalkeepers in the English Premier League.
