Mendy story: from unemployment benefit to the Champions League semi-final

How much faith do you have to have in yourself to keep going when nobody believes in you? Well, Edouard Mendy apparently had a lot of it, since the current Chelsea keeper went from an unemployed to the Champions League semi final in the space of seven years.

The French born Senegalese keeper had a rough time in 2014, when he spent a whole year without a club or football in general. Mendy took unemployment benefit in France, and his partner fell pregnant while he was battling to find a club. And how do react when a third league club Cherbourg releases you?

„If someone had said to me six years ago when I didn’t have a club that I would end up here, I wouldn’t have even bothered looking at or listening to them. I did genuinely have my doubts about whether I would carry on. But I look at it now and say that it’s thanks to those moments that I am where I am today, and my family has also been able to benefit from where I’ve got to with my football“ said Mandy to Guardian.

(©AFP)

When the goalie was let go by Cherbourg, he went to the club where he trained when he was young, Le Havre, and trained with the reserves there every morning. In the afternoon, he went to he gym or to the pitch with his brother, to practice shot stopping.

“I had to take unemployment support at that time so I could dedicate myself totally to football … It was incredibly difficult and also my partner was expecting our first baby. And so the unemployment support wasn’t going to be enough for us, we needed something else, and so I did start looking for other work“ explained Mendy.

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The 28-years-old Senegalese got an opportunity to sign for Marseille as their forth choice goalkeeper and from there went to Reims, where his career took off and brought him to Chelsea, through Rennes.

“I had the opportunity to go to Marseille and I was given a trial there. Fortunately for me it worked, and when it did it was like a complete relief for me. Because one year to go without football is an incredibly long time. I had many, many doubts during that time. But it was thanks to my family who helped so much in those moments to keep me strong” said Mandy.