‘Shark Team’ chief Benjamin Mendy wins World Cup with France after Man City success

Benjamin Mendy has played very little this season due to a serious injury which saw him sustain a rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament, keeping him out for most of the 2017-18 campaign.

However, the pacy left-back, who celebrates his 24th birthday on Tuesday, is now both a World Cup winner and Premier League winner after France overcame Croatia 4-2 to win the World Cup in Russia today.

Mendy played no part in the final, and has only featured for 40 minutes in the tournament, all in the second half of France’s 0-0 draw with Denmark. Lucas Hernandez of Atletico Madrid has been preferred for the left-back position by Didier Deschamps, with Mendy having very little time to prove his fitness heading into the competition.

The former Monaco man also made just 7 appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League in the title-winning campaign, but heads into his summer break with a Premier League and World Cup winner’s medal to his name.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping Mendy can stay fit next season and if he can, it will almost be like a new signing. The Parisien was City’s costliest signing of last summer’s transfer window and his return will also allow Guardiola to utilise a 3-5-2 formation more often, a system City were using prior to Mendy’s injury.

benjamin mendy, world cup 2018