<span style="font-weight: 400">Chelsea’s and Senegal National Team goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has been named</span><a href="https://www.fifa.com/the-best-fifa-football-awards/best-fifa-mens-goalkeeper"><span style="font-weight: 400"> 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400">. </span>
<span style="font-weight: 400">Following Mendy's impressive performance for the Blues and their Champions League campaign, he definitely deserved the award — just in his first year!</span>
<span data-preserver-spaces="true">It was no easy feat, as Mendy was thought to have ended his career seven years ago at 23. But he proved everyone otherwise.</span>
<span data-preserver-spaces="true">Things weren't going as planned at the end of his uneventful stint with Cherbourg, ultimately released at the end of his contract in 2014. The goalkeeper was at the brink of his career. His agent nor any club was taking him. At one point, Mendy was ready to throw in the towel and leave the life of football behind, trading it all for work in a clothes shop.</span>
<span data-preserver-spaces="true">Thing's turned around when an ex-teammate from Cherbourg reached out to Mendy. His ex-teammate was friends with a goalkeeping coach from Marseille and needed a reserve keeper. Coach Dominique Bernatowicz is the coach's name who decided to take him in. When interviewed, Bernatowicz said, </span><em><span data-preserver-spaces="true">"From the first training session, I could see he was a cut above."</span></em>
<span data-preserver-spaces="true">The rest was history as Bernatowicz got Mendy to move him to Ligue 2 club as a regular footballer and joined the Reims. The club gave him the much-needed opportunity to develop and showcase what he's all about.</span>
Everything was a stepping stone to where Mendy is today. Looking back, it was as uncertain as it can be, but the Senegalese native finally got his golden ticket in the summer of 2020. Mendy's patience and hard work finally paid off as coach Frank Lampard of Chelsea got word of world-class talent in Mendy. Chelsea gave Mendy a host with a hefty £22 million contract.
Now, under the bright lights and eyes of the Premier League, Mendy has finally come out of his shell into becoming one of today's elite goalkeepers. Mendy is currently on duty for the Senegal International team competing at the African Cup of Nations. His style of play brought a whole new level to the meaning of goalkeeping.
The award capped off Mendy's 2021 season as The Best Goalkeeper for 2021
