Édouard Mendy

Édouard Osoque Mendy (born 1 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.

Born in France, he plays for the Senegal national team.

Édouard Osoque Mendy was born on 1 March 1992 in Montivilliers, Seine-Maritime in France, to a Senegalese mother and a Bissau-Guinean father.

He holds both French and Senegalese nationalities.

He is a cousin of fellow footballer Ferland Mendy.

Mendy joined the youth academy of Le Havre AC at the age of 13.

After being stuck behind Zacharie Boucher in the talent pool, Mendy dropped down levels to play with CS Municipaux Le Havre.

He started his professional career at AS Cherbourg, who were then in the Championnat National, the third tier of the French football league system.

Starting his career in his native France, Mendy played in the Le Havre academy before signing professional terms with third division Cherbourg in 2011.

Mendy made his Premier League debut on 3 October, keeping a clean sheet in Chelsea's 4–0 victory over Crystal Palace, becoming the first African goalkeeper to play in the division since Carl Ikeme in 2012.

Mendy was released in 2014, after which he almost quit football, before getting an opportunity with Marseille's reserves.

He established himself as regular in the following seasons at Reims and Rennes.

He stayed in Cherbourg until the summer of 2014, after which he was without a club for a year.

"I did genuinely have my doubts about whether I would carry on," Mendy said in a later interview.

At the age of 22, Mendy registered for unemployment and began to look for jobs outside of football.

However, in 2015, Mendy was recommended to fill a goalkeeping vacancy at Marseille by friend and former teammate Ted Lavie.

After one phone call with the academy goalkeeping coach, Dominique Bernatowicz, Marseille signed Mendy as their fourth choice goalkeeper.

He played the 2015–16 season in Marseille's reserve team, primarily as a backup to Florian Escales.

In search of regular playing time, Mendy joined Reims during the 2016–17 Ligue 2 season.

On the opening day of the season, Mendy made his debut when Reims' starting goalkeeper Johann Carrasso was sent off five minutes into the match against Amiens.

Mendy went on to keep three clean sheets over his next seven games.

The next season, Mendy cemented his role as the starting goalkeeper on a team for the first time, as he helped Reims win the 2017–18 Ligue 2 title as they were promoted to Ligue 1 for the following season.

Mendy kept 18 clean sheets in his 34 appearances over the course of the season.

In the 2018–19 season, Mendy played in all 38 Ligue 1 games, as newly promoted Reims soared to an eighth-place finish.

Mendy kept fourteen clean sheets, the third highest of any goalkeeper in the league.

However, he subsequently switched allegiance to Senegal, where he became the first-choice goalkeeper for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, helping Senegal to a runners-up finish.

He helped his nation win the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, while also being named the tournament's best goalkeeper, keeping a clean sheet in the final.

Mendy joined Rennes in August 2019 for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be in the region of €4 million, replacing departing goalkeeper Tomáš Koubek.

Mendy made his debut on Matchday 3 against Strasbourg after recovering from a broken finger.

He saved a penalty to preserve a clean sheet as Rennes won 2–0 at the Stade de la Meinau.

Mendy went on to keep nine clean sheets in 24 league matches for Rennes in a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them to a third-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

In 2020, Mendy signed for Premier League club Chelsea for a reported fee of £22 million.

In his first season, he immediately broke into the starting line-up, becoming the first African goalkeeper to play for the club's senior team, and kept sixteen clean sheets in the Premier League.

Mendy also equalled the record for the most clean sheets in a UEFA Champions League season with nine, and kept another clean sheet in the final to help Chelsea win their second title.

He was also awarded both the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and The Best FIFA Goalkeeper of 2021, becoming the first African goalkeeper in football's history to win both awards.

He would continue as the first choice keeper in the 2021–22 season, before subsequently falling out of favour during 2022–23.

In 2023, Mendy signed for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli for a fee of around £16 million.

Eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau and Senegal through descent and France through birth, Mendy initially joined Guinea-Bissau in honour of his father.

English club Chelsea signed Mendy on a five-year contract in September 2020, for a fee reported to be £22 million.

On 29 September, Mendy made his debut for the club against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, which Chelsea lost 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.