Former Real Madrid striker and current Fulham player Gonzalo Garcia said that Fernand Mendy is the toughest player that he has faced in training, calling him 'really strong'. Garcia played for Real Madrid for a bit more than a season as a first-team player. Before that, he used to train with the first team here and there and feature for them on an occasional basis.
However, in the Club World Cup, he produced some really good performances, which is how he got an opportunity to be a first-team player last season. Despite having limited minutes, he was one of the top scorers for Real Madrid.
He would have obviously trained alongside Mendy, despite the Frenchman having a reputation for always being injured. He had moments last season where he was fit and training regularly with the team.
Even before that, he would have had the chance to train alongside Garcia, which is probably how the Spaniard knows how strong Mendy really is, and it does look like it.
There's a reason why it is so difficult to get past Ferland Mendy
If Mendy can outmuscle the strongest wingers on earth, then he can do similar things to Garcia as well. Mendy, despite being such an injury-prone player, is one of the strongest players physically that Real Madrid have.
His presence can always be felt when he's on the pitch, defensively, and even if it is for four or five matches in one season, Mendy makes sure that he shows at least one or two great performances for the first team.
Obviously, he has overstayed his welcome, as he probably should have left by now, but it is still worth mentioning the good qualities that the Frenchman has.
Garcia has trained with some of the toughest players around at Real Madrid in recent years: Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and Aurelien Tchouameni are just some of the physically imposing players that Los Blancos have, but him naming Mendy just goes on to show how difficult it is to go up against him.
We're talking about a player who went so many games without actually losing for Real Madrid in his first season. We're talking about a player who, in his prime, no one can dribble past, and it was just really good to see.
One can hope that one day Mendy can play as a more regular player, but that will probably never happen now. At least he has this to look back on, as well as his storied carere with Real Madrid.
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