Edouard Mendy was given the The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award on Monday evening, January 17th.
The Chelsea goalkeeper beat off competition from Gianluigi Donnarumma and Manuel Neuer to win the prize.
He became the first African goalkeeper in history to win the award after enjoying an outstanding 2021. He played a pivotal role in Chelsea's Champions League victory and emerged into one of the world's best goalkeepers.
Mendy was not in attendance in Switzerland when his triumph was announced.
That's because the 29-year-old is currently away on International duty with Senegal at the African Cup of Nations.
The Senegalese team were gathered together when the award was announced. And they went crazy upon hearing that Mendy was the winner. Footage of the moment has emerged and it's heartwarming.
Mendy sent an emotional Instagram post after he won the prize.
He wrote: "What a pride to receive this award today. I am even prouder to be the first African goalkeeper in history to win this title, and I hope to pave the way for many others."
In a video filmed by Bayern Munich and Senegal full-back Bouna Sarr, Mendy can be seen celebrating his achievement while his international team-mates applaud and punch the air with joy.
Mendy’s rise to the top of the game has been a fairytale story. Not long ago he was without a club and pondering his next steps. Walking away from the game was a very real possibility, but Mendy persisted and has reaped the rewards, rising from the lower French leagues to become a European champion with Chelsea.
Despite reaching the pinnacle of the game for goalkeepers, Mendy does not want to stand still. It is that commitment to development that helped him scale such heights in a short space of time.
"I think there is always room for improvement if you want to learn," he noted. "Today, I still want to learn, I still have a thirst for trophies. We have a very good group at Chelsea, it's a very good club, where we can do very good things."
In the short term, Mendy will be focusing all his efforts on helping Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations. His start to the tournament was delayed because of a positive Covid result shortly after he arrived in Africa, but he is now back with the squad.