Senegal international Mendy has been a revelation since joining Chelsea in the summer of 2020, quickly displaying Kepa Arrizabalaga as the club’s first-choice shot-stopper and helping the Blues win the Champions League last season.
The 29-year-old won more silverware with Senegal this week as he helped the nation win their first-ever AFCON trophy, saving a penalty in their shootout victory over Egypt.
Former England defender Ferdinand says Mendy has been ‘impeccable’ over the past 12 months and insists he is one of the best goalkeepers on the planet, along with Manchester City’s Ederson and Manchester United’s David de Gea.
Speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: ‘If I was picking a goalkeeper right now in the world, I think my top three keepers would be – and maybe people say you’re biased because of the Premier League – but it would be Mendy, Ederson, and on form right now De Gea.
‘Mendy stands out for me, especially in this last year, he’s been impeccable.’
As well as winning the Champions League last season and keeping a clean sheet in the final, Mendy also helped Thomas Tuchel’s side secure a top-four finish in the Premier League and reach the FA Cup final.
Following Senegal’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations final, Mendy said: ‘We are proud.
‘We have never won it before. We worked really hard to win this trophy and today we won as a group and as a country and that is why I am super proud.
‘The shooters in the penalties did really well, I tried to do my best to save one shot and I did that, so I am super happy!’
Mendy kept three clean sheets during AFCON and was named the best goalkeeper at the tournament. Following Senegal’s win, former Premier League star Jay Jay Okocha hailed the Chelsea man as the ‘best in the world’.
‘Since he signed for Chelsea his potential came out and we knew little about him before then,’ Okocha told SuperSport.
‘It shows when you are in a good league, when you are competing every week you keep improving.
‘He showed in this competition that it’s not a fluke that he’s the best goalkeeper in the world and I think that award must have gone to him because of the amount of clean sheets that he kept.
‘If you don’t concede goals you give yourself the possibility of winning matches and when it matters the most he saved that penalty to give his nation to opportunity to score the winner.
‘For me we’ve seen a lot of good keepers in this tournament but deservedly he’s keeper of the tournament.’
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