We’ve all been there right? Desperately applying for jobs in our local retail shops, factories, or food outlets, just to earn some money to get by.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is about to play in the Champions League final and finish a season in the Premier League, but it was just 6 years ago when he was about to take a job in a clothes shop just to earn some money.
He thought his football career had failed after being rejected at a number of clubs, and he was forced to train at his local amateur team unpaid.
He was soon given a chance by Marseille to be their fourth choice goalkeeper, until Rennes came in for him and the rest as they say is history.
This is why he will always remain a humble and appreciative player, and he has revealed all in his journey via The Daily Mail yesterday.
He says he is now trying to improve every day to reward Chelsea for showing faith in him.
“When I look back on my career path,’ says Mendy, ‘from the first moment I signed my first professional contract or when I was unemployed for a while, if anyone would have said to me that a few years down the line, I was going to be playing in a Champions League final, I wouldn’t have believed them. I wouldn’t have listened to them.
“I feel lucky now to be at a really positive point in my career and playing for a club where I have the opportunity to win trophies but what has happened is about more than luck. I have worked really, really hard throughout that period to have achieved what I have achieved so far to make that career jump. This final is the reward for that hard work.
“I am constantly driving myself on to prove that Chelsea didn’t make a mistake and that they made the right choice.
“So much has changed for me. There are lots of reasons why I went from that player who couldn’t get a club to where I am now. I was always convinced of my own ability. I was really sure I could finally go all the way and make it as professional player. It helped convince me of that when I saw other goalkeepers playing.”
