Mendy went from looking for a club to almost winning every important trophy in football.

Although Sadio Mane was the centre of attention in the African Cup of Nations final, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy played a key role as Senegal lifted the trophy.

The Chelsea goalkeeper avoided penalties from Egyptian Mohanad Lasheen to give the Liverpool striker a chance to lift Senegal's first-ever AFCON trophy.

After receiving the FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper award in 2021, Mendy was also named Goalkeeper of the Tournament at AFCON, while Mane was named Player of the Tournament.

From unemployment to fame

Mendy has had some difficulty getting to where he is today, as he was left without a team in 2014 after leaving French fourth-tier soccer club Cherbourg.

Mendy played for Marseille's B team before joining Reims and at the age of 26, he was finally able to make his Ligue 1 debut. His performances caught the attention of Rennes, where he stayed for a season before joining Chelsea for £21.6m (€24m) in the summer of 2020.

He won almost everything in one year.

It wasn't long before Mendy established himself in Chelsea's starting XI ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga and in just one calendar year he's already won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and AFCON. Now he will travel to Abu Dhabi to join his Chelsea teammates as the Blues take on Al Hilal in the Club World Cup semi-finals. On his return to England, Mendy also has a chance to win the Carabao Cup if Chelsea plays Liverpool in the final.

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