The 29-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper is proof that opportunities present themselves sooner or later. And to think, he was on the verge of quitting the ball and taking a job in a shop before luck came knocking.
In seven years, he went from a job center to winning the Champions League. When stated in this manner, it resembles the plot of a Hollywood film about redemption, sacrifice, and success. It doesn't go very far in reality, except for the fact that it is based on the true story of Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
One who, after leaving Cherbourg in 2014, seemed doomed to give up any hopes of football glory. And it's clear from his statements to the Daily Mail that the idea that one day he could just play for Champions League access seemed ludicrous. He was also about to give up the ball and take up a job in a shop before luck knocked on his door.
What made Mendy close to getting the clothes job?
In 2014, he sent increasingly desperate messages to his agent, asking if anyone else was interested in him. The window for transfers was about to close. His calls to the agent were not returned
He and his pregnant partner moved in there that summer because they couldn't afford a place of their own, and Edouard was devoting all of his efforts to training unpaid at the local club's academy and attempting to save his career.
He remembers the year when he didn't have a club, when he was unemployed and he was worried about how he would support his young family. It was his 23rd year, at a time when most top-level footballers are already chasing glory. If a player hasn't made it by then, there's a good chance he won't.
How did good luck come to Mendy?
Mindy revealed "The worst moment for me, the lowest point I got to, was when it was coming to the end of the transfer window that summer. Cherbourg had released me and I had been trying constantly to contact my agent, leaving him voicemails and sending him texts, and he just wasn't replying. I was doing this every day and it got to the last day of the transfer window."
'He did not even have the courage to speak to me directly. When he did get in touch, it was just a text message saying, 'Sorry, it is the last day of the window and I am not going to be able to find a club for you, so you won't be able to sign a contract with anyone, so I suggest you look for work and continue to train by yourself'.'
He and his partner, who was pregnant with their first child, moved to his parents’ cramped flat that summer because they could no longer afford a place of their own and Edouard was pouring all his efforts into training unpaid at the local club's academy and trying to rescue his career.
