Mendy, a VIP sitting in economy class

There are little things that say everything about a person. Attitudes that show that fame and money have not changed him at all, when the usual thing is that he becomes a character in a yellow press magazine and social networks. Their way of dressing and traveling betray these changes. For example, it is very common to see footballers from big clubs ride only on private jets that sometimes even belong to them. Or at least always use the business class of the aircraft, which allows you to separate yourself from the rest of the mortals.

Ferland Mendy, who now has the starting status of the eleven of the most important club in the history of football and who collects some beautiful millions of euros a year, appears as a blessed exception. The journalist who writes these lines knew in advance that his compatriot had a fairly normal life and that he did not brag about anything. Not even the humility that really characterizes him. But the journalist was able to verify this by chance when a few days before Christmas he got on an Air France plane to return home and spend a few days with his family. There Mendy appeared, taking the same flight to Paris.

And where did the footballer sit? At the back of the device like one more traveler, in economy class, the cheapest. An old French saying tells that “the devil hides himself in the details”, but in this case we can say that “the saint reveals himself in the details”. It is that Ferland Mendy knows better than anyone how hard life can be and the uncertainty that surrounds the destiny of each one. As a teenager he had severe arthritis in his hip and a serious infection that caused a doctor to tell him that football was over and that he might need to have his leg cut off. He resisted, struggled, and learned to walk again. A story of overcoming that has taught him to take things calmly and with healthy joy.

Thus, having become the Madrid hero of a Champions night will fill his heart, but it will not go to his head. And even if he makes the front pages of the newspapers, he will still sit in the last row of the plane …