Former Chelsea goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy has opened up on how Frank Lampard’s exit affected his career at the club.
Mendy joined the Premier League side from French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennes and went on to become the first-choice goalkeeper.
However, after winning the Champions League, Club World Cup and the UEFA Super, Mendy joined Saudi Arabia club, Al Ahli in 2023 in a deal worth 16 million pounds.
Mendy’s move to Saudi Arabia was criticized by many as one that was occasioned by money but the tall and lanky shot-stopper says he is enjoying his time at the club.
“Since I moved, it’s been great. I play every weekend and the expectations as a player I think to play in this kind of environment help you to perform,” Mendy told YouTube channel Business of Sport.
“So I am really happy and my family is really happy, we enjoy our time there and we found good people there.”
Mendy was signed by ex-club star, Lampard in the 2020/21 season and he has explained the relationship he had with the former England international.
“I had a special relationship with Frank Lampard because he was the one who brought me. He was the one who stayed patient while other managers would say let’s move to another goalkeeper, he was the one who said let’s wait.
“So I had a very close relationship with him and when he left, it was just like a big shot because we were not great but we were not that bad. In another club it will never happen but because it is Chelsea and obviously you had the opportunity to bring a manager like Thomas Tuchel so you can understand the club,” added Mendy.
He won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with the Teranga Lions of Senegal to stamp their authority as one of the biggest football nations on the continent.
