Benjamin Mendy Sells World Cup Trophy Replica
Benjamin Mendy has never been far from the spotlight. This time, it is not a tackle, a trophy lift or a court case that has pushed him back into the headlines, but a decision that cuts right to the heart of football’s sense of sacred relics: he has sold his official replica of the World Cup trophy.
The 2018 winner with France put the gleaming symbol of that summer in Russia under the hammer in the “Global Football Auction Part 2”, organised by American memorabilia specialists Goldin. The price? 62,000 dollars, around 54,000 euros, paid by a collector willing to own a piece of Les Bleus’ golden month.
For many fans, that small replica is untouchable. A lifetime keepsake. For Mendy, it was merchandise.
The backlash came quickly. Social networks bristled with outrage, with supporters accusing the defender of disrespecting the shirt, the country, the moment. Mendy did not retreat or smooth things over. He went straight back at them.
“Is this my trophy or yours?” he fired on Snapchat. “In the end it belongs to me, and I do with it as I please.”
The tone then shifted from defiant to openly mocking. Cited by France’s RMC, he added a line that dripped with sarcasm: “And on top of that, it was taking up far too much space in the cupboard.”
The message was clear. For him, the World Cup replica is not a sacred object. It is an item he earned, owns, and can cash in on if he wants. And he might not be finished.
“And by the way, I still have more titles up for sale,” he said, hinting that more medals or shirts could soon follow the trophy out of his house and into an auction catalogue.
It is a striking stance from a player whose career has veered between glittering success and brutal interruption. On paper, Mendy’s CV still shines. Ligue 1 champion with Monaco in 2017, he earned a 58 million euro move to Manchester City that briefly made him the most expensive defender in the world. At City, between 2017 and 2023, he stacked up silverware: eight trophies in total, four of them Premier League titles, as Pep Guardiola’s side dominated English football.
On the international stage, he collected 10 caps for France and, crucially, a place in the 2018 World Cup-winning squad. That summer in Russia, even as a squad player, stamped his name into French football history and delivered the very replica he has now sold.
Then everything stopped.
In 2021, Mendy faced several charges of rape and attempted rape. Football disappeared. His name left team sheets and moved into court reports. He spent more than two years out of the game, including time in detention, as the case dragged on and his career stalled.
In July 2023, the court cleared him of all charges. Legally, he walked out vindicated. Professionally, he walked back into a world that had moved on without him.
The comeback has been a long road, far away from the glare of Manchester or the roar of a World Cup. Mendy restarted at Lorient in France, then crossed borders in search of rhythm and minutes: first to Zurich in Switzerland, then to Poland with Pogon Szczecin. There, in the Ekstraklasa, he is under contract until June 2027, rebuilding a life and a career that once seemed set only for the very top.
Against that backdrop, the sale of a World Cup replica takes on a different texture. For some, it is sacrilege. For Mendy, judging by his own words, it is pragmatism, maybe even a clean break from a past that brought both glory and turmoil.
The medal remains. The memories remain. The replica is gone, boxed up and shipped to a new owner. Mendy, meanwhile, keeps moving, from Russia 2018 to Szczecin 2027, selling off pieces of yesterday while trying to write a very different tomorrow.
