Benjamin Mendy Sells World Cup Replica Amid Controversy

Benjamin Mendy has never been a quiet figure on or off the pitch. Now he has ignited another storm, this time without kicking a ball.

The 2018 World Cup winner has sold his official replica of the trophy France lifted in Moscow, putting one of football’s most coveted symbols under the hammer in the United States.

A World Cup on the auction block

The piece went up for sale in the Global Football Auction Part 2, organised by American memorabilia specialists Goldin. The hammer fell at 62,000 dollars, around 54,000 euros, for the gleaming replica handed to Mendy after France’s triumph over Croatia in the 2018 final.

For many supporters, a World Cup replica is sacred. For Mendy, it was an asset.

The sale triggered a wave of criticism on social media and in parts of the French press, with fans questioning how a player could part with such an emblem of national glory. The backlash was swift. So was his response.

“My trophy or yours?”

Mendy took to Snapchat and went straight on the offensive.

“Is this my trophy or yours?” he posted. “In the end it belongs to me, and I do with it as I please.”

No apology. No backtracking. Just a reminder that the medal, the replica, the memories – they are his.

Then came the sarcasm. As reported by RMC in France, he added that the trophy was “taking up far too much space in the cupboard.” A line that poured more fuel on the fire, framing the World Cup replica less as a sacred relic and more as clutter.

And he did not stop there. Mendy even teased that this might only be the start.

“By the way, I still have more titles up for sale,” he said, hinting that other pieces from a career loaded with silverware could soon follow the World Cup replica onto the market.

A glittering CV, a fractured career

For all the controversy, the trophy is only one chapter in a career that has veered between the heights of the game and its darkest shadows.

Before Russia 2018, Mendy had already risen fast. He won Ligue 1 with Monaco in 2017, part of the thrilling side that surged past Paris Saint-Germain and reached the Champions League semi-finals. That form earned him a 58 million euro move to Manchester City, a fee that briefly made him the most expensive defender in football history.

At City, he collected medals at a relentless pace. Between 2017 and 2023, he won eight trophies, including four Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola. On the international stage, he earned 10 caps for France and a place in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup-winning squad, even if injuries and competition for places limited his minutes.

Then the story turned.

Courtroom ordeal and long exile

In 2021, Mendy’s career came to a shuddering halt. He faced several charges of rape and attempted rape, accusations that pushed him out of the game and into the courtroom spotlight. He spent significant time in detention as the case dragged on, his name reduced from headline signing to headline scandal.

In July 2023, the court cleared him of all charges.

The verdict closed the legal chapter but not the impact. More than two years away from football, between prison, trials and enforced inactivity, left deep marks on his career and reputation. While his former team-mates chased more titles, Mendy was fighting for his freedom.

A new life, a new market?

Once free to play again, he had to rebuild from the ground up. No longer at the epicentre of the Premier League, he resurfaced at Lorient in France, a far cry from the Etihad’s floodlights but a necessary restart.

From there, he moved to Zurich in Switzerland, then on to Poland with Pogon Szczecin. He is now under contract with the Ekstraklasa club until June 2027, trying to piece together a late-career revival in quieter surroundings.

Against that backdrop, the sale of his World Cup replica takes on a different tone. For some, it is a betrayal of a golden summer in Russia. For others, it is a player asserting control over a past that has given him as much pain as glory.

Mendy has made his position clear: the trophy is his, the decision is his, and he is prepared to cash in on his own history. The question now is simple: will the rest of his career add new chapters worth keeping, or more trophies destined for the auction house?