Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has named the ‘impeccable’ Edouard Mendy in his top three goalkeepers in the world right now after his Africa Cup of Nations win.
Mendy, 29, has been hailed for his immediate impact at Chelsea and lifted the Champions League title in his debut season with the club.
The Chelsea No 1 was unbeaten in nine matches and tied Santiago Canizares and Keylor Navas for the record of most clean sheets in a single Champions League season.
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Mendy also played an important role in ensuring that Thomas Tuchel’s men finished in the top four in the 2020-21 season and reached the FA Cup final.
Despite his heroics in the Champions League, Mendy shockingly failed to make the 30-man shortlist for the 2021 Ballon d’Or award.
The Blues star was nominated for France Football’s Yashin Trophy, but Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma comfortably scooped the award.
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Mendy secured his first major piece of international silverware on Sunday in Senegal’s penalty shootout win over Egypt in the 2021 AFCON final.
The Senegal international kept a clean sheet in the final and was named the best goalkeeper at the tournament.
Ferdinand believes that the current three best ‘keepers are Mendy, Manchester City star Ederson and United No 1 David de Gea, with Donnarumma and Alisson both missing out.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, he 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.
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“Mendy stands out for me, especially in this last year, he’s been impeccable.”
Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly insisted that his native homeland has the best goalkeeper in the world after leading his side to their first AFCON title.
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“It was a tough game and a tough tournament,” he told reporters.
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“We made it with our team and our power. Our goalkeeper is the best in the world and we win the title.
“We feel happy. We knew it would be hard to win the Africa Cup of Nations but today we made it.
“Our team deserved to win this title. We had been looking for this for a long time and now we have it. This team is magnificent.”
Topics: Rio Ferdinand, Edouard Mendy, David De Gea, Ederson, Football, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, England, Premier League
Adnan Riaz