Chelsea star Mendy irked by his Ballon d’Or snub

Lewis Oldham
Chelsea star Edouard Mendy

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy believes he should have been nominated for this year’s Ballon d’Or alongside the likes of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante.

After having spells at Reims and Rennes, Mendy joined Chelsea last year. They paid around £22m to sign the goalkeeper.

The Senegal international quickly replaced Kepa Arrizabalaga as the club’s number one goalkeeper.


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Mendy has shone for Chelsea from his 59 appearances. He helped the Blues win the Champions League last season.

Five of his Chelsea teammates have been named on a 30-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or. Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Kante, Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku are all in contention for the award.

As reported by the Daily Star, Mendy has hinted that if he played at the Euros, he would have also been nominated:

“It’s something that motivates me and pushes me to work. Honestly, I am wondering.

“If I had played for France and had taken part in the [European Championships], would we have this debate and this reflection?”

Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly (Mendy’s Senegal teammate) has said that it is a “real shame” that the goalkeeper isn’t nominated:

“It’s a real shame that [Mendy] isn’t one of them. He is the first African goalkeeper to win the Champions League.

“We must continue to work and move forward. We have to do double [the work] of some people to be well judged.

“Edou is a very positive person. We talked about it together. He will continue to fight to be part of it. For me, he has a place among these 30 players.”

Speaking last month, Tony Cascarino suggested that Mendy is one of Chelsea’s best-ever signings:

“Chelsea dug deep. Had a goalkeeper that performed miracles and you could argue that he’s been one of Chelsea’s best ever signings.

“He cost [£22m] from Rennes, came in and seemed to breeze into the team. Showed no signs of concerns of nerves.

“[Saturday] was a day that made you think, ‘Wow’.

“Whoever made the decision, I suspect it was Petr Cech because he was at Rennes as a goalkeeper and will know a lot of people at that football club, and was probably pivotal in that move to get him for Chelsea.”