Real Madrid full-back Ferland Mendy has confidently claimed that he will succeed legendary defender Marcelo at the Bernabéu once he eventually moves on.
Marcelo currently remains part of Zinedine Zidane’s plans at the club, however, at the age of 31, and with 348 ?La Liga appearances to his name, it won’t be much longer until he decides to hang up his boots.
In June Mendy was announced as Madrid’s latest addition for a fee in
This seems like a realistic claim, too, as Mendy won’t face any major competition for his place in the side due to the shallow depth in ?Real Madrid’s squad – particularly at left-back.
Mendy has hit the ground running on an international level with four senior appearances for France since his debut in 2018.
Furthermore, he has graced the ?Champions League scene on ten occasions, including a recent triumphant display against Galatasaray in which his side put six past the Turkish giants, while also keeping a clean sheet.
It wasn’t always plain sailing for him, though, as at age 15 he was told that he would never play football again due to a major hip injury.
“When you’re 14 or 15 years old and the doctors tell you that you can’t play football you just break down,” he said when asked about the earlier stages of his career.
Now though, with the past behind him and the future in his sights, he is moulding into a terrific footballer.
As a strong passer of the ball, an accomplished dribbler and a wonderful tackler, Ferland Mendy has all the tools required to become a world-class defender.
If he reaches his sky-high potential, there’s no reason as to why he can’t indeed follow in Marcelo’s footsteps at Real Madrid.
The moral of the story? Never give up.
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