Play 11 games and win title and World Cup? Yes, I’ll take that!
Injury-hit Mendy raring to go again as he insists France medal is merited
BENJAMIN MENDY is on the roof of downtown Miami’s East hotel, two necklaces around his neck, talking about the desire burning i nside after a year plagued by injury.
Aymeric Laporte has j ust wandered past after enjoying a dip in the pool a few hours before training. Mendy nods gently, quickly returning to the conversation. Forget the necklaces, he wants t o discuss something shinier. ‘It’s here,’ he beams. ‘The medal is in my pocket.’
The medal in question is from the World Cup — and it goes with him everywhere. He proudly puts it on the wooden table.
‘This is my skin now. It’s going to be my skin for four years. Now we are the kings.’
Mendy achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Premier League with Manchester City, then the biggest prize in football with France at the end of a season during which he played just 11 games. The cruciate ligament injury sustained in September ruined it for a left-back who cost £49million last summer.
He played just 40 minutes of France’s World Cup campaign, in the 0-0 group draw with Denmark, and the suggestion that he is unworthy of collecting silverware preys on his mind. We might be familiar with the prankster persona, the social media banter, but there is a degree of deeper introspection to the 24-year-old.
‘Some people can say I didn’t play a lot, I don’t deserve this or that, but if I can take then I’ll take. You have to take everything you can,’ he says.
‘I didn’t have any low moments. When I went to the hospital some people were worse than me. It’s just one knee. Some people have bigger problems so I don’t have a reason to have a bad face. Every day I was happy. I worked, saw my friends, so I’m happy.
‘I was asking a lot of questions about when I can move on to the next stage of rehabilitation. The time went so quick.
‘I remember when I went to the hospital in Barcelona, I asked before my surgery whether I could go to the World Cup. The surgeon [Ramon Cugat] said: “I’m not a magician, but normally yes.” That was my goal. After this, winning the World Cup, I work and run and do everything.’
Experiencing such highs together was a discussion Mendy had with his great friend Paul Pogba when the pair were just 13 and growing up together at Le Havre in Normandy. It was the dream that became reality.
‘We are really close,’ he says. ‘Playing with him in the national team is a dream. We spoke about this when we were younger and now we are in the France team. It’s amazing.’
They spend plenty of time with each other in Manchester and Mendy has been left baffled by constant criticism of the Manchester United midfielder. He maintains that to watch his friend’s rousing speeches in the France changing room before each knockout match was to see the real Paul Pogba.
‘ If you’re Paul Pogba and do some haircuts or something else then everybody speaks, speaks, speaks. But he plays so well, now has won the World Cup, so there is not much you can say. He was the one using his mouth to speak, giving big, big words to the team. You see him: he’s very hungry.
‘ He was at Juventus with Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Pirlo and you take everything from a situation like that. He’s a leader.’
Mendy has those qualities too. He might not have played much during City’s record- breaking campaign but his influence was felt in uniting the dressing room. And he knows where to draw the line. Those who came so close to lifting the World Cup will not have that golden medal rubbed in their faces when they return.
‘When I come back I’m not going “waaaaaaah!” — I say “hi” and we speak. After we played we spoke but every time it’s with respect.
‘Everybody was talking about their country before we all went to Russia. I said that you’ll see the French win but some other guys said no.
‘You need to be a big family to win titles. I felt this at Monaco. With this group it’s the same. This is the best way to win trophies.’
More trophies are the goal for Mendy and his team-mates now. He has been in Miami for a week, holidaying before joining Pep Guardiola on tour around 10 days ahead of schedule. He has been described as ‘like a new signing’ by members of staff.
‘I spoke with Pep and he tells me this is the best for me and I know that he knows everything. I listen to him and it’s better. I want to be ready,’ Mendy says, before adding: ‘We need to be careful.’
He needs to be a bit careful that World Cup medal does not fall out of his pocket as well.
‘PLAYING WITH PAUL POGBA FOR FRANCE IS A DREAM — HE IS A LEADER’