Édouard Mendy: From €600 a week to Champions League Winner; my Chelsea story

It’s a milestone 50th episode and a guest to match it. Édourard Mendy is a Champions League and AFCON winner. He won FIFA's ‘The Best’ and UEFA Goalkeeper of the year award in 2021. He holds the record for the joint most clean sheets in a single Champions League season. He went from nearly giving up the football dream in a French job centre with a baby on the way to winning the CL with Chelsea in 7 years. And now he's playing alongside Mahrez, Firmino and Toney at Al Ahli. 

Away from the pitch, he is building a reputation as a passionate investor looking to translate the success he has achieved on the pitch to help founders build great businesses. As Édou states, the move to Saudi has also been about facilitating the work he can do away from the pitch; ‘it’s not just about football and not just about money’.

This is one of sport’s great stories; a meteoric rise to the top that had to endure countless challenges to achieve Édou’s reality today. From his early days in France to developing football in West Africa, with a big helping of his time at Chelsea, we get a rare insight into the inner workings of a top tier footballer. 

On today’s show we discuss:

Origins of a Champions League Winner:

• How did Mendy get his break in France? What is it like to work your way from the bottom?

• What happened when Édou decided to look at a career outside of football because he wasn’t making it in football?

• You have to be careful who you put your trust in; when agents promise opportunities that don’t materialise.

• The role family and humble beginnings have played in keeping him grounded as success has quickly come to him.

• Signing for Reims and then Rennes which paved the way for his move to Chelsea.

The Chelsea Story:

• From getting a call from goalkeeper coach Christophe Lollichon to eventually signing his contract; the Chelsea transfer story.

• How long does it take for clubs to agree to a transfer? What did Marina Granovskaia say was unique about his move?

• What role did Frank Lampard play in helping Édou establish himself as Chelsea’s number one keeper?

• What happens when a manager changes at a club? From Lampard to Tuchel…

• The inside story of Chelsea’s iconic Champions League win in Porto. Why Tuchel wanted to play on Chelsea’s underdog status.

• From Champions of Europe and the World to the fringes of the squad; where did it go wrong?

Moving to Saudi Arabia and what comes next:

• Why this move is not just about football and not just about money; what are the considerations that influence transfers?

• ‘It is important to feel wanted and I felt that from Al Ahli’. How a conversation with the CEO convinced Édou that this was the club for him.

• What is most exciting about the emerging league and how is the country preparing for it’s World Cup hosting duties?

• Playing in a dream team with Mahrez, Toney and Firmino and the star power of the Saudi League.

• When an athlete becomes an investor; how Édou is building a profile for himself as an investor and what is the value of athletes bringing their expertise to emerging companies?

• How establishing football in West Africa and Senegal in particular is and will always be a key part of his focus.