Benjamin Mendy Sells World Cup Replica Amid Controversy

Benjamin Mendy has never been a quiet figure on or off the pitch. Now, the 2018 World Cup winner has lit another fuse by selling one of the most coveted symbols in football: his official replica of the World Cup trophy.

The piece, awarded to each member of France’s triumphant squad after their win in Russia, went under the hammer in the Global Football Auction Part 2, run by US memorabilia specialists Goldin. The hammer dropped at 62,000 dollars — around 54,000 euros — for the gleaming reminder of that night in Moscow.

The sale alone was enough to stir outrage among some fans, who view the World Cup as sacred ground. For them, a replica trophy is more than metal and gold colouring; it is a relic of a national moment. Mendy saw it differently.

He went straight on the offensive on Snapchat. "Is this my trophy or yours?" he snapped back at critics. "In the end it belongs to me, and I do with it as I please."

Then came the sting. As relayed by France’s RMC, Mendy added with a heavy dose of sarcasm: "And on top of that, it was taking up far too much space in the cupboard."

He did not stop there. The defender even suggested this might only be the start of a clear-out. "And by the way, I still have more titles up for sale," he said, hinting that more medals or memorabilia could follow the World Cup replica onto the market.

For Mendy, that trophy is just one item from a career that, on paper, glitters. Before Russia 2018, he had already climbed to the summit of French football with Monaco, winning Ligue 1 in 2017. That same summer, Manchester City paid 58 million euros for him, a fee that made him the most expensive defender in the world at the time.

In England, silverware flowed. Between 2017 and 2023, Mendy lifted eight trophies with City, including four Premier League titles. He collected 10 caps for France and, even if he was not the central figure of the national team, his name is etched into the roll call of world champions.

Then everything stopped.

In 2021, his career was derailed by several charges of rape and attempted rape. The case dragged on, and so did his absence from the pitch. Detention, courtrooms, and more than two years without playing competitive football left deep marks on a player once tipped to dominate the left flank for club and country.

In July 2023, the court cleared him of all charges. The verdict closed a legal chapter but could not erase the lost years.

Mendy’s route back has been anything but straightforward. He returned to the game with Lorient in France, a far cry from the Etihad’s bright lights, before heading to Zurich in Switzerland. From there, he moved again, this time to Poland with Pogon Szczecin, where he is under contract until June 2027.

So when he shrugs at the idea of parting with a World Cup replica, it lands differently. For some, it is sacrilege. For him, perhaps, it is just another object from a life that has been turned inside out.

The medal remains. The line on the CV remains. The World Cup title does not vanish because the replica trophy now sits in someone else’s display case.

What changes is the sense of what these symbols mean to the man who won them — and how much he still wants to carry from a past that refuses to let him go.