How underrated is Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy?
Ferland Mendy doesn’t come up frequently enough when European football fans debate who the best left back in the world is. The Real Madrid starter is definitely on that shortlist, even if there are some Premier League-only fans who seem to think it is blasphemous for him to be mentioned in the same breath as Andrew Robertson, when, in fact, Mendy is absolutely the better player.
Mendy had another strong performance against Levante, completely shutting down the opposition defensively. It is a rare sight for an attacking player to dribble past Mendy, who is a calm, intelligent passer. He completed 98 percent of his passes against Levante, for example, leading the team and placing fourth with 51 total pass attempts.
The French left back is a rising star and was worth every penny of the 50 million euros Real Madrid spent to sign him from Lyon. Zinedine Zidane found a star left back who can give Los Blancos the kind of defending at the position that nobody else in the entire world can.
Offensively, Mendy is improving month over month. He quietly added three dribbles completed and hit Aitor Fernandez’s gloves with a weak-footed shot from distance in the second half of the victory.
Mendy is not underrated by Madridistas, but there are several fans of other leagues, specifically those pesky Premier League aficionados, who would do well to start paying closer attention to the 25-year-old left back.