The Chelsea shot-stopper denied Egypt’s Mohanad Lasheen in the penalty shootout to give the Liverpool forward the opportunity to clinch Senegal’s first AFCON trophy in their history.
“Hard work, consistency, sacrifices, belief, support and hope,” Mendy wrote on Instagram after the final.
“I couldn’t have done it without the love and support I received from my team, staff, players, family and fans. We won together.”
After receiving the 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper prize, Mendy was also named Goalkeeper of the Tournament at AFCON, with Mane getting the Player of the Tournament award.
From unemployment to glory
Mendy has gone through some hardship en route to where he is today, as back in 2014 he was left without a team after departing French football fourth-tier side Cherbourg.
“I had unemployment support at that time so I could dedicate myself totally to football,” he said back in 2020.
“But it was incredibly difficult and my partner was expecting our first baby. Unemployment support wasn’t going to be enough for us. We needed something else, so I started looking for other work.
“Then I had the opportunity to go to Marseille and I was given a trial there. It was just a case of giving my all to get the opportunity to join that club. Fortunately for me it worked and when it did it was a relief for me.”
Mendy played for Marseille’s B team before joining Reims, and at the age of 26 he was finally able to make his debut in Ligue 1.
His performances caught the eye of Rennes ,where he stayed for one season before moving to Chelsea in exchange for 21.6 million pounds (24 million euros) in the summer of 2020.
He’s won almost everything in one year
It didn’t take Mendy long to establish himself in Chelsea’s starting line-up ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga, and in just one calendar year he has already managed to win the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and AFCON.
