Benjamin Mendy has hardly played any football since last summer after suffering a serious knee injury towards the start of last season, but it’s still been a hugely successful 12 months for the 24-year-old.He picked up a Premier League winners’ medal with Manchester City in May after featuring in six of his team’s 38 matches.And he added a World Cup winners’ medal to his silverware collection earlier this month after France beat Croatia in the final.Mendy, however, played just 40 minutes for Les Bleus at this summer’s showpiece international tournament in Russia.He came on against Denmark in the 50th minute for Lucas Hernandez. The match, which was arguably the most forgettable 90 minutes of the World Cup, finished 0-0.Despite the fact he’s missed so much football over the past year, Mendy has managed to increase his popularity with football fans.He has become one of football’s must-follow accounts on Twitter - he’s now fast approaching one million followers on the social networking website - because he loves a bit of banter.
What Mendy did after winning the World Cup
And then there are the moments of madness which football fans lap up, like when he hobbled down the touchline after Raheem Sterling’s winning goal against Southampton last November.
Mendy was at it again at the World Cup final, sliding about with the World Cup trophy, making sure that he was getting at least some of the limelight despite not actually playing.
The footage did the rounds on social media and you can watch it here…
He was clearly having a whale of a time on the rain-soaked Luzhniki Stadium pitch.
Stan Collymore on modern footballers like Mendy
However, former England striker-turned-pundit Stan Collymore has an issue with Mendy’s behaviour after winning the World Cup.
He reckons sliding about with the World Cup is something you’d expect to see from an 11-year-old, rather than a grown man, and he couldn’t imagine former professionals like Paul Scholes or Roy Keane behaving in such a way.
On modern-day footballers, Collymore wrote in the Mirror: “They are treated like Under-11s and, as such, Pogba, Neymar and Co are Under-11 footballers.
“They’re indulged by clubs who don’t tell them off anymore, they don’t have standards, in terms of dress, hair, earrings and bling.
“There was a reason why Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson liked players with smart haircuts who settled down and got married early – because it showed maturity. Whereas, these days, professional football seems to celebrate players’ immaturity because it’s all seen as such fun.
“Take Benjamin Mendy running along with the World Cup when he hadn’t played in the final and sliding on his knees with the trophy.
“If you think about it, that’s the sort of thing you’d do aged 11, isn’t it? But it all links to the young fans who are buying products, so clubs embrace it.
“There would be no value to Nike or Adidas in a Paul Scholes or a Roy Keane in 2018.
“Neither would be doing cartwheels on social media – they’d just be off home to walk their dogs.
“Yet they were great players for United who got their heads down and won everything there was to win at club level.”
Football - and society - have changed
While some people might agree with Collymore here, it should go without saying that football - and society - have changed a lot over the past 15-20 years.
Young people are entertained by footballers like Mendy, who aren’t afraid to have a bit of fun on and off the pitch.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, although it is a shame that players with personalities like Keane and Scholes seem to be a dying breed these days.
Do you agree with Stan Collymore - or does he need to get with the times? Have your say by leaving a comment below.