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Contract talks between Chelsea and Edouard Mendy have broken down again after the Senegalese goalkeeper rejected a six-year deal.
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has reportedly turned down a six-year contract extension offer from Chelsea on the count of low wages.
Contract talks between both parties have been going on for a while but are now at a standoff as the club refuses to match Mendy’s wage demands.
A source close to the player disclosed that Mendy believes Chelsea’s latest offer to be disrespectful and here is why that is true.
Put some respect on Edouard Mendy’s name
“Edouard is back at Chelsea and he is ready to play. But there is a feeling that the contract situation is just going nowhere,” the source told Sun Sport.
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“Edouard has won some huge trophies for Chelsea — but there is a sense that he is not being shown enough respect by the club over a new deal,” explaining the basis of Mendy’s obstinance in the negotiations.
Mendy’s current deal was signed in September 2020 when he joined the club and runs through June 2025 so this is not a matter of urgency or time, this negotiation is entirely about the money.
The 30-year-old currently earns around £100,000 a week at Chelsea which was okay when he came in as a stop-gap signing two years ago.
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However, his performances and achievements at the club since his arrival mean he has significantly outgrown that level and is well within his rights to demand wages commensurate to his improved standing in the game.
Mendy’s demand is reported to be based on parity with Kepa Arizabalaga, Chelsea's other goalkeeper who Mendy displaced from the team upon his arrival but still earns almost double the Senegalese’s wages.
Making a case for Edouard Mendy
Again, it is understandable that Mendy earned just over half of Kepa’s weekly salary when he signed as a relatively unknown 28-year-old from Rennes.
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The general idea was to give him a chance because Kepa was simply too bad at the time to continue unopposed as Chelsea’s first-choice goalie and Mendy grabbed the chance with both hands, both literally and figuratively.
His superb form coincided with Chelsea’s appointment of Thomas Tuchel and Mendy formed the basis of the German tactician’s defensive solidity.
Chelsea won the UEFA Champions League that season with Mendy keeping nine clean sheets in the run, the joint-most in the tournament’s history along with Santiago Canizares for Valencia in 2000/01 and Keylor Navas for Real Madrid in 2015/16.
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Mendy was named in the team of the season and named goalkeeper of the tournament for that season while also winning the FIFA best goalkeeper award for 2021.
Not forgetting his achievements with Senegal in the same year where he helped win the Africa Cup of Nations, also as the best goalkeeper as well as being named in the team of the tournament.
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Disrespect is common, especially for African players
Of course, it shouldn’t be considered a ridiculous request by the best goalkeeper in the world to demand to at least be the highest-paid goalie at his club.
But in fact, that was the situation Mendy found himself in over a year ago when Chelsea first offered him a new deal that increased his earnings but was still less than what Kepa earns which the player of course turned down.
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And therein lies the aforementioned disrespect, dashed with a hint of racism even though there is no way to prove that exactly.
It is just difficult to imagine a white football player being the best in his position and still getting lowballed that badly, Mendy’s grievances are more than valid.
Mendy has since lost the leverage as his form nosedived after the AFCON and is currently far away from being the best goalkeeper in the world, he’s barely even the Chelsea first choice anymore.
The dip in form is now being weaponised against him in the negotiations with Chelsea’s latest offer which is generous in duration but still financially inferior to Kepa’s which has been Mendy’s one consistent request.
To make matters worse, many are now trying to guilt trip him about not accepting Chelsea’s initial offer while he had the leverage and still got undervalued by the club.
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What is clear now is that Mendy will never get the appreciation he craves at Chelsea because if they didn't do it while he was on top of the world, why would they do it now that he’s been out of form for a full year?
It is perhaps best to leave and go regain his best form somewhere else where he can get the full respect his ability and achievements command.
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