Mendy’s first year as a Blue couldn’t have gone much better on the pitch, with clean sheets galore and of course the European Cup. He has also quickly settled into life in England, with London one of his picks for how he likes to spend his spare time, along with gaming and, first, some bonus practice with his son…

‘He is a good goalkeeper!’

‘I like to play with my children. I don’t have a choice! They are waiting for me after school in my garden. We have two goals, one each. He tries to score and I try to score.

‘I am a goalkeeper at Chelsea, but I am a goalkeeper at home, too! My children want to be strikers, so they need a goalkeeper to shoot against and practice.

‘They only like football. They love it. They are six years old and four years old. The elder one is really good. Even as a goalkeeper he is good. He has good reactions. Maybe he will be a goalkeeper in the end, but now he wants to be a striker!

‘I don’t like conceding goals but I do let them score. When they’re older it will be different!’

A chance to catch up

‘I like to play video games, especially Call of Duty with my brother. We play as a team. He is in France so it is virtual. I have a headset, the big gaming chair, everything!

‘I’m a proper geek, like Thiago who is a geek as well! I don’t play with him though; he prefers Formula One games.

‘It’s a great opportunity to catch up with my brother and spend some time together even though we are apart. We are a good team and we try to win.

‘I like to play after my matches because I have a lot of adrenaline and I can’t sleep. It’s another way to get rid of the adrenaline.

‘I don’t play FIFA because I don’t like my ratings! This season is still bad! Even for Toni, he wasn’t happy. I don’t have Twitter otherwise I would definitely complain!’

Enjoying the Eye

‘I like to go to in central London with my family, and with my sister as well. She lives in the city, and I’m nearer the training ground, but I go into the city to see her and walk around the city.

‘Last time I went on the London Eye with my family, it was perfect. The weather was good, and the views were amazing. We went to Hyde Park too which is beautiful.

‘Before we won the Champions League not many people recognised me, but now more do. The people are really good with me, they respect when I’m with my family. They just say ‘hello’ or ‘keep going, you’re doing well’ and I really appreciate that.

‘I adore the English culture. That’s why my sister has lived here for seven years now, and why I came here every year to visit her. She gives me English lessons. She’s a very good teacher, she’s helped me a lot, and her husband as well. I’m very happy to live here.'