Over the past week or so, there have been rumblings that Pep Guardiola is slowly losing patience with Benjamin Mendy, who, according to Le Parisien, arrived three hours late for a recovery session after going to see the Anthony Joshua fight in London the night before.
Add to that the fact his driving license has been suspended after being caught speeding, and the behavioural issues are even starting to rub off the wrong way over in his home country, as well as within the France staff.
It seems that Mendy is currently going against his own advice, one he gave in an interview with Onze Mondial published this month alongside Riyad Mahrez.
Asked which tips he would give young aspiring footballers to make it to the top level and stand out from the crowd, he said: “By being serious, having a good lifestyle and listening to your family and managers. Work is important. Nothing is handed out. You need to make sacrifices.
“You need to be able to cut things out, and doing that isn’t easy. Sometimes, you come home for the weekend, you’re at home and you’re obviously tempted to go out. You have to paths, that one (points to his right) is to have fun, and here (now to his left) you know it’s not as fun now but better for your future… You need to be able restrain yourself”.
Of course, Mendy has already made it as a footballer, winning a World Cup with France and the Premier League with Manchester City as their starting left-back when fit, but it’s fair to say that advice can still be applied now.
It’s probably just a blip in the defender’s career, and one he’ll likely snap out of, but if even those within the national team are starting to get annoyed, it needs to be sooner rather than later.
