MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 05:37:16| >> :120:12191:12191:

Benjamin Mendy: 'Monaco players joked about joining Chelsea'

Benjamin Mendy reveals that he and his Monaco teammates would joke about which teams they planned on joining following last season's Ligue 1 title success.

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has revealed that a number of his former Monaco teammates informed him that they were going to join Chelsea during the summer.

Les Monegasques' squad was slowly dismantled on the back of their Ligue 1 title-winning success, beginning with creative midfielder Bernardo Silva's move to Manchester City.

Mendy has offered an insight into the behind-the-scenes pranks that took place in the Monaco dressing room, prior to sealing his own £52m switch to the Etihad Stadium at the end of July.

"We started to have this game where we'd be asking each other, 'So where are you going then?'" he told The Telegraph. "And everyone would lie. Some would say, 'Oh, I'm going to Chelsea me'.

"Others would go, 'No, no, I'm off to Paris Saint-Germain'. Everyone was making up these stories. But when the calls came in and we all did go off to sign for other clubs, we'd agreed beforehand that we'd send each other Whatsapp pictures of ourselves at the point of signing, with the shirt aloft.

"Bernardo ended up being the first one. The rest of us were on holiday when we suddenly got this round robin photo from him signing for Manchester City, which was a surprise because he was the only one who had never said where he was going or what his plans were! And then he knocked us all over with that picture – 'I've done it, here I am'. After that it was like dominoes falling."

Kylian Mbappe and Tiemoue Bakayoko were the other two high-profile departures, joining Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea respectively.

ID:307899: cacheID:307899:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2874:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A general shot of the corner flag at the Etihad Stadium prior to Manchester City's Premier League clash with Middlesbrough on November 5, 2016
Read Next:
Bernardo Silva learning from teammates
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!