The Senegal goalkeeper started his senior career at Cherbourg in 2011. He played there for 3 years and made 28 appearances for the club. The current Chelsea number 1 was out of football for a year after leaving his 1st club.
Mendy, 29, recalled: “I had no club and no work. My mum told me: ‘You’ve no money, but you have worked so you’re entitled to benefits. I didn’t know what to do, but my family showed me, and I got an interview at Pole Emploi. I turned up and stood in line. People were yelling at the counter, and others were moaning about how long they had to wait.”
He further added: “When it was my turn the advisor did his best, but was very brisk as there were 50 other people behind me. My case was one among many, and he wasn’t going to give me special attention. You are in the system.”
“I went for my interview, and the guy asked me: ‘What are you looking for?’ I said: ‘A club, as I am a footballer.’ He replied: ‘We can’t help you. In short, he told me I should think about doing something else. And when a guy you don’t know tells you this, it makes you think. I told myself: ‘There you go. That football career you’d hoped for – you’d better cross it off your list.’”
In 2015 Mendy got a reserve-team role at Marseille. He moved to Renne in August 2019. Mendy went on to keep nine clean sheets in 24 league matches for Rennes in a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them to a third-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Champions League.
Seeing his great performance Mendy was brought in at Chelsea on 24 September 2020. Chelsea signed Mendy on a five-year contract for a fee reported to be £22 million. Since then, he has been in excellent form and has kept 16 clean sheets out of 28 games played for the club.
