Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos had a debut season and a farewell season to remember. Vinícius Júnior was perhaps the best Real Madrid player and proved that he has grown into one of the best players in the world. Rodrygo scored essential goals in some key games, and Modrić masterfully played the new role of a veteran from the bench. Antonio Rüdiger sovereignly commanded the defence, and the goalkeepers Courtois and Lunin did a perfect job between the posts. Federico Valverde was the engine of the team, and Tchouaméni and Camavinga showed that they were no longer just the future but the present of the club. Dani Carvajal crowned another great season with a goal in the Champions League final, and faithful soldiers Nacho and Vázquez played their roles perfectly.I’m not a victim of racism. I’m a tormentor of racistsFerland Mendy, the irreplaceable left back and one of the ten players in Real Madrid with the most playing time, remained in the shadow of almost everyone. If it weren’t for the injury at the beginning of the season, he might have been among the top five. After five seasons at Santiago Bernabeu, the Frenchman of Senegalese and Bissau-Guinean descent finally got to be recognized as he deserved. However, he is not the same player now as he was five years ago when he came from Olympique Lyonnais for 48 million euros. It was that disastrous transfer window for Real when they threw almost 200 million euros down the drain on Eden Hazard and Luka Jović and when only Eder Militao seemed like a proper reinforcement.##NAJAVA_MECA_8154683##Based on his initial performance, Mendy was also considered a wrong choice. To make matters worse, the Madrid public quickly began to cry for Theo Hernandez, whom Real sold to AC Milan for a small fee, since Zinedine Zidane didn’t believe in him back then. Zizou had more faith in Mendy’s defensive qualities, but it wasn’t exactly a glorious time, neither for the two of them, nor for Real. The 29-year-old came to gradually succeed the veteran Marcelo but did not offer what the Madrid crowd was used to from one of the best offensive left-backs football has ever seen. The Frenchman seemed scared and without confidence, even when he was supposed to do things he was good at. It was a transitional period in which Real won only one major trophy in two seasons (La Liga), and it seemed that Mendy would only stay in the capital of Spain for a short time. Especially when Los Blancos brought David Alaba in from Bayern as a huge reinforcement after Marcelo’s departure in June 2021. Although the Austrian was moved from the left flank to the heart of the defense in Munich, it was expected that he would play left-back at Real and that Mendy would move to the bench.Real deny Ancelotti over Club World Cup participationBut then Carlo Ancelotti joined the Madrid giant approximately at the same time as Alaba. Even after Ramos’ and Varane’s departures, he firmly decided that Mendy would remain a left-back and that Alaba would play as a centre-back. The Austrian only started on the left side in the first few matches of the season while Mendy was recovering from an injury. As soon as he recovered, the Frenchman took his place in the starting line-up, and Ancelotti put an end to the controversy surrounding the left-back position. Whenever he was healthy and available, Mendy was the starter, and he rapidly developed as the season went on. A crucial goal-line intervention against Manchester City after Grealish’s shot in the Champions League semi-final saved Real from a certain elimination before Los Blancos came from behind and won the duel. And then in the final, he put Mohamed Salah in his pocket and made an immeasurable contribution to winning the title of European champion.This Mendy goal line clearance saved us. pic.twitter.com/sAd0e3nQ9S— Big2🤍 (@TheAsianLads) January 5, 2024 The first one to point out how underrated Mendy was was Toni Kroos who called him “Real’s rock”. Ancelotti continued to increase Ferland’s confidence with trust, but a series of injuries in 2023 removed him from the team, and he played only a couple of unimportant matches until the end of the season, which Real ended without a trophy. Then Real manager had to come up with a solution and copy Didier Deschamps’ move from the French national team with Camavinga as left-back. But, as soon as Mendy recovered, Ancelotti didn’t even think about that position anymore. Although Real had already openly started working on signing Alphonso Davies, the Italian had no doubts that Ferland was the best solution for the left flank of Real’s defence. In the knockout phase of the Champions League, the Frenchman was the only Real player who played every minute! And he did it absolutely fantastic. Even when Real suffered defensively and was forced to defend, the rivals’ chances mostly came from the other flank, as in the match in Manchester when he completely neutralized Bernardo Silva and City’s attacks from the right wing.”Ferland Mendy is defensively the best left-back in world football, but there is room for improvement offensively,” said Carlo Ancelotti after winning the Spanish Super Cup in mid-January.Is Real Madrid up for the highest transfer in its history?!As someone who played with Paolo Maldini, later coached him and then won everything he won, Ancelotti surely “knew something about football” and knew why he said that. But despite what the experienced strategist says and despite Rüdiger’s claim that he is physically the strongest footballer in the world, Ferland Mendy will never be appreciated as much as he deserves. Inconspicuous and less attractive than other Real stars, he “just” does his job perfectly and efficiently.But the Spanish club simply has to value and appreciate him properly, and now it’s high time that was done. Mendy’s contract with the Madrid side expires next June, and they will have to put their cards on the table regarding the defender’s future. Ever since he joined from Olympique Lyonnais in 2019 and signed a six-year contract, he is the only Real player whose contract hasn’t been revised, whose salary hasn’t been increased and who hasn’t been offered a contract extension in these five years. His annual salary is around 5.5 million euros and according to this parameter, the Frenchman is on par with players like Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Dani Ceballos, Lucas Vázquez…Ancelotti has already said that he would like to work with Mendy for a long time, the player has nothing against it, but there is no offer or a green light from Florentino Pérez. On the contrary, he and his associates went even deeper into negotiations with Alphonso Davies. The Bayern defender also has a contract until next June, and the Bavarians are doing everything to keep him in order to avoid David Alaba’s case all over again. And yet, Davies will, for sure, get much more money at either Bayern or Real than what Mendy earns at Santiago Bernabeu at the moment. Ancelotti is not against the arrival of the Canadian, but he wants to keep the Frenchman, given that a full-back of that profile is necessary, especially when you have wingers like Vinícius, Rodrygo or Mbappé.🚨 JUST IN: Real Madrid are still open to SELLING Ferland Mendy. @JorgeCPicon Alvarez Cold Palmer Chelsea Sack Duran pic.twitter.com/0HyD6SRI7B— ICATECH (@UtinAniekeme) June 11, 2024 Mendy is currently with the French national team, where he has never had an important role. The more offensive Théo Hernandez has the advantage, but if France needs to defend the left flank, Ferland will be a much better option than Milan’s attractive, but defensively hollow full-back. Nineteen years ago, Florentino Pérez made one of the biggest mistakes in Real Madrid history when he casually let the unattractive but very useful Claude Makélélé join Chelsea and brought in David Beckham. Zinedine Zidane then said the iconic sentence, which can also be applied to Mendy’s case:”Why add another coat of gold paint to a luxurious Bentley when you lose the entire engine?”
