Marca reveals the strange case of Ferland Mendy and asks: “What will Real Madrid do now?!”
Ferland Mendy is a strange case. A key player in Real Madrid Practically since his arrival in 2019, there is a feeling that the club is still evaluating his performance with the aim of deciding on his future, either to consider renewing his contract or putting it up for sale in the market.
Under normal circumstances, Mendy’s numbers and performances would have already prompted the club to renew his contract as he was a key player with Zinedine Zidane and is now non-negotiable for Carlo Ancelotti. There were connections, but a little more.
Surprisingly enough, Mendy has been left out of Real Madrid’s massive renewal plan. In the summer of 2021, they renewed the contracts of Luka Modric, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois, Karim Benzema, Fede Valverde and Casemiro.
Last summer they followed the same path with Eder Militao, Vinicius and Rodrygo, three strategic players for the future project.
However, there is no news for the French full-back, whose contract expires in 2025 (like Militao and Rodrygo before renewal).
It’s no secret that it’s hard to replace Marcelo, who has been a key part of Real Madrid’s success lately.
There was also talk of his physical condition. Mendy, who was an undisputed starting player, played 35 of 56 (62 percent) games last season, 38 of 52 (73 percent) in 2020/21 and 32 of 51 (63 percent) in 2019/20.
These are the three seasons in which he suffered eight injuries that kept him out for 277 days. Of particular concern was the tibial periostitis that kept him away for 106 days and which the club followed with concern.
However, this season he has put his physical issues behind his back and is one of the few players not injured, having played 17 out of 21 matches (81 percent) and was available for all matches.
Despite his obvious quality, he is the only player in the usual starting lineup for Real Madrid who does not participate regularly with his country and who will not be in the World Cup in Qatar, not counting Toni Kroos, who retired from international football, and David Alaba. Austrian national football team did not qualify.
It is certainly a strange case, given that he is the primary left-back for the Spanish and European champions and Real Madrid has not made up his mind yet.
source: marca
